Unbeaten Bullfrogs Have to Scramble to Edge San Diego

Victories don’t have to be pretty. Certainly, the Bullfrogs learned that Thursday night.

Skating for the first time this season on treated concrete, Anaheim overcame the poor puck-handling qualities of the surface, and, perhaps, a case of easing up on the road when it wasn’t prudent, to post a 9-8 victory over the San Diego Barracudas in front of an announced crowd of 3,914 at the San Diego Sports Arena.

Rick Judson and Victor Gervais scored fourth-quarter goals to give the Bullfrogs to a two-goal lead that proved the difference. Gervais’ goal was short-handed. In improving its record to a Roller Hockey International best 6-0, Anaheim survived an all-out Barracuda attack by five skaters in the final 1:39.

San Diego fell to 3-4, six points behind the Bullfrogs in the Pacific Division, despite a three-goal, two-assist performance by Jason Krywulak.

Todd Wetzel and Daniel Shank each scored twice for Anaheim. Shank moved into a tie with Gervais, each with 21 points, as a team scoring leader. “The floor was quite a factor here tonight,” Wetzel said. “You slide a lot, even on turns, and it was hard to make drop passes because the puck gets up on an edge quicker.”

Anaheim opened cautiously, then Wetzel’s 30-foot bullet about 2 1/2 minutes into the game gave the Bullfrogs a 1-0 lead.

San Diego scored with 4:52 to go in the quarter when Krywulak deposited Oleg Yashin’s rebound in the net. But goals by Perkins, off a long pass from Gervais and Savo Mitrovic gave Anaheim a 3-1 advantage.

The Bullfrogs looked strong at the outset of the second quarter, forcing goalie Frank Ouellette to repel numerous shots. After being cross-checked hard to the surface on defense, Wetzel got up, took a flip-pass down the middle from Mark Ouimet and beat Ouellette five minutes into the period. A little more than a minute later, Mitrovic fed Frederick Jax for a score. That gave Anaheim a four-goal lead.

After that, the Bullfrogs, who have been averaging 12 goals per game, looked less confident.

“I thought we started well tonight,” Bullfrog Coach Grant Sonier said. “We gave them some life with a few penalties in that second quarter. I give San Diego credit. They didn’t give up.”