Most die-hard fans loathe the folks who jump on the bandwagon when their team is winning.

But Phoenix Coyotes devotees, who have weathered years of on- and off-ice disappointments, welcome them with open arms.

"Holy cow, we need them," longtime Coyotes fan Larry Feiner said. "We have to look at it as an opportunity to convert those bandwagoners to Phoenix Coyotes fans."

Feiner acknowledges that he was once a fair-weather fan. He wore his old St. Louis Blues jerseys for years after he moved to Glendale. He traded it in for Coyotes garb at the same time the team's former owner entered the team into bankruptcy in May 2009.

Ownership and relocation questions have been constant every year since. Ticket sales have been among the lowest in the National Hockey League. And yet the team has gone to the playoffs three seasons in a row. The Coyotes have battled their way into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the team moved to Arizona.

Some say the wins couldn't have come at a better time. The Coyotes are drawing new fans as former San Jose Sharks chief Greg Jamison works to put together financing to buy the team and keep it in Glendale.

That success motivated high-school-football coach Lenny Doerfler to give up his Arizona Cardinals season tickets in favor of the Coyotes.

"After coming to a few games, I was addicted," said Doerfler, who has filled his high-school classroom with Coyotes posters since attending his first hockey game last year.

In recent weeks, he's been delighted to see more Sandra Day O'Connor High School students wear Coyotes jerseys and T-shirts.

Litchfield Park residents Joey Bryson and Ann Eisenburg have watched hockey games on television for years but are now considering game packages for next season. They recently bought white Coyotes T-shirts for the playoffs.

Bryson bought an Ilya Bryzgalov jersey for his fiancee weeks after the goalie's high-profile June trade to the Philadelphia Flyers.

"If I'd known, I would have had another jersey made for her," Bryson said.

Others have been introduced to the team by longtime fans.

Recent Phoenix transplant Josh Patterson attended his first Coyotes game last month after an invitation from a co-worker. The colleague, a Coyotes fan since the team's Phoenix days, has filled him in on the team's ownership woes and behind-the-scenes drama, but Patterson has only seen the excitement.

"It seems like the city is really starting to get behind the team," he said.

Coyotes President Mike Nealy said the franchise plans to capitalize on the attention from such new fans.

The franchise sold 50 season-ticket packages on Monday alone and is already ahead of its renewal rate for all of last year, he said.

"As expected, when the team is winning, people like to be part of it," Nealy said. "We welcome any late comers and welcome others back."

He said the team is heavily promoting season-ticket packages and hopes to target new fans in coming weeks, Nealy said.

Some may be harder to reach.

Greg and Lisa Arnold of Queen Creek attended their last game six years ago and rooted for the Anaheim Ducks, the team they grew up with. They can't imagine making the drive to Glendale 41 times a year.

But in recent weeks, the couple has cheered for the Coyotes.

"We like the intensity of playoff hockey," Greg said.