DENVER -- Antoine Vermette made his 700th game special. Ryan Zimmerman Jersey . Vermette ended up a goal short of his second career hat trick, Thomas Greiss stopped 29 shots in an emergency start and the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Tuesday night. Jordan Szwarz also had a goal for the Coyotes, who won for just the second time in five games. Phoenix has struggled of late, going 3-5-2 in its past 10 games to slip to ninth in the Western Conference. Tuesdays win pulled the Coyotes within a point of Colorado. Vermette outscored the Avalanche on his own with two goals in a span of 7 minutes, 2 seconds to mark his milestone game. "Good timing," he said of his two goals. "If it happens this way, Ill take it." Patrick Bordeleau scored his fourth goal of the season and goalie Semyon Varlamov had 22 saves for the Avalanche, who have lost three of their past four. Despite a strong start to the season, Colorado is eighth in the Western Conference and has struggled to score goals lately. The Avalanche have just 15 in their past eight games. "We are going to have to find better ways to score goals," coach Patrick Roy said. "We are going to have to drive that net a little more. We are going to spend more time in front and might have to take more good shots. It might have to be ugly goals before the confidence comes back." After a scoreless first half of the game, the goals came quickly. Vermette got the first one when he scored on a give-and-go with defenceman Keith Yandle at 8:31 of the second period. "These guys make some great plays," Vermette said. "Yands on the first goal, great pass, good feed on his backhand." Szwarz made it 2-0 a little more than three minutes later when he scored on Jeff Halperns rebound. Colorado got back in the game briefly with a little help from the Coyotes. Bordeleau charged at defenceman Michael Stone, whose pass from behind the net clipped off Bordeleau and hit the back of Greiss skate and into the net. "I just left it," Greiss said. "I didnt see the other guy coming from the other side, but it just bounced off my skate and went in." It was the only blemish for Greiss, who woke up Tuesday not expecting to play but was told he would start when Mike Smith became ill in the morning. Greiss responded with another solid performance against Colorado, and is 4-0 with a shutout against the Avalanche. "(Smith) was struggling this morning with illness and just felt like there was no use putting him in if hes not 100 per cent," coach Dave Tippett said. "Greiss went and played a great game for us." His teammates helped him out by restoring the two-goal lead. After Bordeleau cut the lead in half, Vermette quickly responded with his ninth goal when he scored off Oliver Ekman-Larssons rebound 1:05 later. "That was one you hate to give up, kind of a fluky one, but I like the way our guys stayed with it," Tippett said. Colorado had opportunities to take the early lead, but Greiss was sharp. He stopped centres Paul Stastny and Maxime Talbot close in and defenceman Andre Benoit on a breakaway. "We arent scoring enough goals," Stastny said. "Our guys have to do more to put goals on the board. Plain and simple." The Avalanche couldnt mount much of a rally early in the third. They had just five shots in the first 13 minutes of the period before putting pressure on Greiss. Varlamov came off for an extra skater in the final minute, but Colorado managed just one more shot. "Their goalie made some great saves" Roy said. "I think we need a bit of confidence offensively. The chances are there, its just a matter of time before they go in. During that time were going to have to find other ways to score." Notes: Vermettes only hat trick was April 3, 2008, when he was playing for Ottawa. ... Coyotes RW Shane Doan (illness) missed his second straight game. ... Avalanche C Alex Tanguay had a setback in his return from a knee injury and will likely miss more time. He was expected to return this weekend, but a hip injury will keep him out longer. ... Phoenix D Zbynek Michalek returned to the lineup after a nine-game absence because of a lower-body injury. Howie Kendrick Jersey . -- During Kansas shootaround on Wednesday before the Jayhawks faced Oklahoma, coach Bill Self told Wayne Selden Jr. Max Scherzer Jersey . Weise left the arena with a splint on his wrist and underwent tests to determine whether the tendon is torn. Winger Travis Moen will also miss some time after suffering a concussion in Mondays contest. http://www.officialnationalsgearshop.com/Nationals-Sean-Doolittle-Kids-Jersey/ . Those who impressed in each of the three events were asked to attend the main CFL Combine which begins Friday in Toronto. MELBOURNE, Australia -- Norways Suzann Pettersen birdied her last three holes in a 6-under 66 on Thursday to lead the womens Australian Open by a shot after the first round at the Victoria Golf Club. Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. Shes in position to take the No. 1 spot in the world from Inbee Park with a victory or a solo second-place finish. "In the first round of the year youre always anxious to get started," Pettersen said. "It took me a while to get really comfortable, to trust what Ive been working on. "In the end the trust was stronger than the rest. I hit a lot of great shots but I also have to say I left a lot of shots out there. I three-putted a lot of greens, stupid three-putts really, but I also felt like I played good and gave myself a lot of birdie channces. Gio Gonzalez Jersey. quot; Ricordeau, who had eight birdies, a bogey and a double bogey, briefly drew level with Pettersen before finishing among a group of four players with rounds of 67. Tied in second place were Park Hee-young of South Korea and Americans Jaclyn Sweeney and Jessica Korda, daughter of former tennis star Petr Korda and already a tournament winner this year. World No. 4 Lydia Ko of New Zealand was among a larger group at 4-under after a mixed opening round. The 16-year-old was one-under after her opening nine but came home with five birdies and two bogeys, including birdies at her last two holes. Australias Karrie Webb, a record four-time winner of the event, opened with a 71. The Hall of Famer had another brush with rules officials after being disqualified last week at Royal Pines for signing an incorrect scorecard after the second round. Webb started her round on the 10th tee Thursday and was told she had teed up fractionally in front of the tee marker. She was allowed to replace her ball without incurring a two-shot penalty. ' ' '