Edgerton Made Mark by Being Put on Ice : Roller hockey: After being battered during East Coast Hockey League finals, he found a summer home with opposing coach McSorley and Bullfrogs.

When Bullfrogs Coach Chris McSorley first saw Devin Edgerton, he knew the high-scoring center was going to cause problems.

McSorley, who coached the Toledo (Ohio) Storm of the East Coast Hockey League, had to find a way to neutralize Edgerton and the Wheeling (W.Va.) Thunderbirds when the teams met in the 1993 championship series.

Edgerton, 23, finished third in the ECHL in scoring with 46 goals and 71 assists in 57 games. In the finals, Edgerton helped the Thunderbirds take a 2-0 lead over the Storm.

Then, the Storm hit . . . Edgerton . . . repeatedly.

“They went after me and my linemates,” Edgerton recalled after a Bullfrogs’ practice Thursday at the Side By Side rink in Huntington Beach.

“I suffered a hairline fracture in my wrist in Game 3, but I finished the series,” he said. “After we were up 2-0, they won four in a row to win it so I guess they did something right.”

So what type of hard checking and punishment did McSorley instruct his players to inflict upon Edgerton?

“I can’t repeat any of that for print,” Edgerton said chuckling. “I’m just glad I’m playing for Chris now.”

Said McSorley: “After I saw what Devin tolerated, I knew he had the grit and character I wanted to have on the Bullfrogs. You know the old adage, ‘If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em?’ Well, I thank God we beat him, but it sure is nicer to have him.”

Edgerton, a 6-foot, 180-pounder from Kindersley, Saskatchewan, is one of the main reasons the Bullfrogs have gone 16 games without a loss this season.

He finished second on the team in scoring with 18 goals and 19 assists, one point behind Victor Gervais, who also outscored Edgerton by one point during ECHL play last season.

The high-scoring pair lead the Bullfrogs into Roller Hockey International’s first championship series against the Oakland Skates. The two-game series begins at 7:30 tonight in the Anaheim Arena.

After the series concludes Tuesday at Anaheim, Edgerton could be on the first flight out to Tampa, where he might get to fight for a spot on the Lightning’s NHL roster.

Edgerton is one of a handful of Bullfrogs who have ice hockey jobs waiting after the conclusion of the RHI season.

Derek Booth, Kevin Kerr, Gervais and goalies Rob Laurie and Bill Horn will also attend NHL or top minor-league affiliate training camps this month.

“I still haven’t heard if I’m going to Tampa Bay,” said Edgerton, who has a two-year contract. “I’ll probably go to Atlanta.”

Atlanta, the Lightning’s affiliate in the International Hockey League, begins training camp Sept. 20, which would give Edgerton some time to readjust to ice skating. His last trip to the ice was somewhat embarrassing.

“It took me 15-20 minutes to learn how to stop again,” Edgerton said. “I also went back and skated with a stick and puck, and the ice hockey puck is so much heavier, I had to tape two pucks to my stick just to get used to it again. But it didn’t take long.”

Although there’s an adjustment period between roller and ice hockey, Edgerton feels the benefits are worth it.

“If anything, the RHI season will enhance my skills,” Edgerton said. “It’s basically the same skating stride and for conditioning purposes it has been great.”

Laurie also admitted there will be an adjustment period when he goes to Peoria, Ill., the St. Louis Blues’ IHL affiliate.

“I’m guessing it will take about the same time it took to get adjusted to in-line skates,” said Laurie, 23, from Clarkston, Mich. “In that case, I should have been on the ice about two weeks ago, but I wouldn’t want to mess up what we have going here.”

Anaheim hopes to win both tonight’s game and Tuesday’s contest to avoid a five-minute, winner-take-all showdown to follow Tuesday’s game if the teams split.

“The team has a sense of civic duty to win the championship for Anaheim,” McSorley said.

Win or lose, Edgerton will leave the Bullfrogs to pursue his ice hockey career. While McSorley said he anticipates at least a 25% turnover of players for next season, he will return to coach in 1994.

“If I’m available, I’ll be back,” Laurie said. “It’s been a good experience. It wasn’t like a vacation, but I did get to come to California and I’m going home with some money.”

Roller Hockey Playoff Facts

What: Roller Hockey International championship series

Teams: Bullfrogs (13-0-1 in regular season) vs. Oakland Skates (5-9)

When: Game 1, 7:30 tonight; Game 2, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Anaheim Arena

Tickets From $6 to $50, two-for-one offer on selected seats.

Format: If the teams split the two-game series, they will play a five-minute overtime to determine the league champion. If the teams are tied after that, the championship will be decided by a shootout.

Notes: The Bullfrogs, the Buss Division champs, won all four regular-season games against the Skates, including a 13-3 victory before 11,680 at Anaheim in the season finale. In the other three contests, the Bullfrogs won by an average of two goals . . . Victor Gervais had 14 goals and 24 assists and Devin Edgerton had 18 goals and 19 assists to lead the Bullfrogs in the regular season . . . Bullfrog goalie Rob Laurie, third in the league in goals against average, had 29 saves in the 13-4 victory over the Blades Tuesday . . . Oakland, which finished third in the Buss Division, reached the finals after upsets over division runners-up St. Louis (Murphy) and Calgary (King) . . . Doug Lawrence, the RHI’s second-leading scorer, leads the Skates. Lawrence had 12 goals and a league-leading 48 assists in the regular season . . . Sylvain Naud, who had 31 goals, and Shaun Clouston, who had 25 goals, are Oakland’s other big scorers.