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Roenick doesn't want to stop at 500 as Sharks face Coyotes

Nov 12, 2007 - 2:55 PM Phoenix (7-8-0) at San Jose (8-7-2) 10:30 pm EST

SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- It looks like Jeremy Roenick doesn't regret his decision to not retire. The San Jose Sharks have to be happy with his decision as well.

Roenick became the 40th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals and he will look to add to that when the Sharks host the Phoenix Coyotes again Monday in a battle of Pacific Division foes.

For such a milestone goal, the 500th might have been the strangest of Roenick's career. He dumped the puck into the right corner from the neutral zone and it took a strange bounce off the boards and hit the right side of the net.

Already out of his net to play the puck, Phoenix goaltender Alex Auld had it bounce off his body and into the crease. While attempting to knock it away, Auld inadvertently pushed the puck across the goal line with his stick at 6:35, giving Roenick his historic tally.

Roenick, who received a pair of lengthy ovations at the HP Pavilion, netted the goal against one of his former teams. He collected 117 of his tallies with the Coyotes in their first five seasons in Phoenix after moving from Winnipeg.

With the goal, Roenick tied Hall of Famer Lanny McDonald for 39th place on the all-time list. The 37-year-old Boston native also joined Dallas' Mike Modano (511) and Hall of Famer Joe Mullen (502) as the only American-born players to score 500 tallies.

Roenick's goal - his fourth game winner of the season - helped the Sharks move to the top spot in the division and dropped the Coyotes into the cellar.

Phoenix has struggled on the road this season, losing six of eight contests away from the Jobing.com Arena.

The Coyotes, who have managed just 41 goals this season, will hope for more production from captain Shane Doan. He leads the team with 11 assists and 14 points.