Unbeaten Bullfrogs Start Slowly, Then Leap to 11-6 Victory : Roller hockey: After falling behind by one goal in first quarter, Anaheim dominates Sacramento.

There wasn’t much suspense in the Bullfrogs’ 11-6 victory over the Sacramento River Rats Friday night at The Pond of Anaheim.

After the Bullfrogs erased a one-goal deficit in the first quarter, Victor Gervais led the onslaught, scoring five goals to help the Bullfrogs cruise past Sacramento in a Roller Hockey International game before an announced crowd of 8,126.

Joe Cook and Brad McCaughey each had one goal and three assists for the Bullfrogs (3-0), the defending RHI champions, who received only a minor challenge from a team seeking its first victory.

Although the Bullfrogs scored a season-high 11 goals, Coach Grant Sonier wasn’t pleased with his team’s effort.

“Overall, I was very unimpressed,” Sonier said. “I was very disappointed in the team’s discipline; people doing jobs they’re not designated to do. I’m happy to be 3-0, but I question if we will win if we play like we played tonight.”

Still, the Bullfrogs were too much for the River Rats (0-5).

Sacramento is experiencing growing pains in its first season, allowing an average of 10 goals per game. The team signed seven new players for Friday’s game.

Rob Hyrtsak, who was an all-star with the RHI Connecticut Coasters last season, joined the team late and missed the first two games. But he still leads the team in scoring. Hyrtsak had a goal and an assist Friday.

Another recent addition, former San Jose SharkLink Gaetz, also caused a stir Friday.

Gaetz, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound defenseman who led the Sharks in penalty minutes in the 1991-92 season, tangled with Bullfrog defenseman Yuri Krivokhija and McCaughey during one sequence in the third quarter.

The Bullfrogs played the second half short-handed because forward Jim Brown, who had two goals, received a game-misconduct penalty midway through the third period. Goalie Rob Laurie, who had 37 saves, stopped Todd Forsyth on the ensuing penalty shot to preserve the lead at 6-3.

With 58 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Darren Perkins received a 10-minute misconduct penalty, and although the River Rats drew within 7-5 on a goal by Damien Steirt early in the fourth quarter, Gervais scored twice and Cook scored another goal in a 2 1/2-minute span to make it 10-5 with 5:13 remaining.

The River Rats grabbed the Bullfrogs’ attention early in the first quarter, scoring two goals in a 14-second span to take a 2-1 lead.

Sacramento converted two consecutive two-on-one situations, tying the score, 1-1, when Forsyth scored off a perfect feed from Hyrtsak with 8 minutes 20 seconds remaining in the period.

Fourteen seconds later, Rob McCaig and Darren Houghton broke in and slid the puck under Laurie for a 2-1 lead.

The lead lasted for five minutes before the Bullfrogs responded with five consecutive goals, including two short-handed scores.

Notes

Roller hockey made its debut at the Forum in Montreal, and a crowd of 10,074 watched the Roadrunners defeat visiting New Jersey, 7-5. New Jersey drew a crowd of 12,583 for its home opener. Average attendance for the league’s first 30 games is 4,272. . . . The Bullfrogs play host to Oakland on Sunday at The Pond of Anaheim, a rematch of last season’s RHI championship series. . . . Forward Bobby McKillop, who sprained his knee in practice last week, could be cleared to skate Monday and return to action Thursday when the Bullfrogs play host to San Jose. . . . All Bullfrog games will be broadcast on KORG-AM 1190.