Bullfrogs’ Laurie Stands Up to Blades

Roller hockey is supposed to be a high-scoring game, but goalie Rob Laurie flirted with a shutout for 44 minutes Sunday to lead the Bullfrogs to a 7-1 victory over the Blades at The Pond of Anaheim.

The Bullfrogs dominated the Blades before 8,653 in their Roller Hockey International season opener, and only a goal by Brett Kurtz with 3 minutes 53 seconds remaining spoiled the shutout.

The Bullfrogs, the defending RHI champions, got key contributions from newcomers Yuri Krivokhija, Jim Brown and Colin Ward. Krivokhija had a goal and three assists, Ward had two goals and an assist, and Brown had two goals.

But Laurie was the big star, stopping 37 of 38 shots.

“It was 4-0 in the first half but it very easily could have been 4-4,” said Brad McCaughey, the Bullfrogs’ player and assistant coach. “Robbie stood on his head for us tonight but we can’t expect that from him every night.”

The Bullfrogs made it tough for Laurie by making frequent visits to the penalty box. The Bullfrogs were whistled for 11 first-half penalties, giving the Blades six power-play opportunities.

The Bullfrogs amassed 54 penalty minutes and the Blades 42 minutes. The Bullfrogs’ Darren Langdon and Kurtz each received 10-minute misconduct penalties late in the game.

“We took some stupid penalties,” Bullfrog Coach Grant Sonier said. “We’ll address that in practice.”

With his teammates in the penalty box, Laurie was up to the task, turning away 19 first-half shots.

It got so bad on offense for the Bullfrogs that they went nearly eight minutes without a shot on goal in the second quarter.

But when the Bullfrogs took a shot, they made it count.

Langdon skated free on a breakaway but Blade goalie Maxim Mikhailovsky stopped his initial shot. After Krivokhija couldn’t score on the rebound, Bobby McKillop knocked the third shot past Mikhailovsky for a 3-0 Bullfrog lead with 4:18 remaining in the second quarter.

The Bullfrogs had four players in the penalty box at one point, and only two players on the playing surface. Still, Krivokhija and Savo Mitrovic were two standouts for the Bullfrogs’ penalty-killing unit, which gave the Blades fits all night.

“Penalty killing and goaltending was the key to victory tonight,” Sonier said.

Victor Gervais scored the first goal of the season for the Bullfrogs, scoring on a breakaway during a power play for a 1-0 lead 2:34 into the game.

Then Ward, brother of King forward Dixon Ward, scored his first goal with 4:42 remaining in the first quarter off a perfect feed from Gervais.

Ward’s second goal came on a 50-foot slap shot that beat Mikhailovsky to give the Bullfrogs a 4-0 lead with 1:19 remaining in the second quarter.

Brown scored a goal in the third and fourth quarters to make it 6-0 before the Blades finally broke through.

“The shutout crossed my mind, that’s probably why they scored,” Laurie said. “Our defense played well tonight and on the penalties, they played it perfectly. Most of their shots came from the perimeter.

“I think I’ll save the shutout for a game when we only score one goal.”