BULLFROG NOTEBOOK / PAUL McLEOD : Roller Hockey International Putting a Different Spin on Game

Roller Hockey International is one big experiment, league officials admit. Many new ideas, some of them grand, some of them not, are being tried if, for no other reason, than to be different from other professional sports leagues.

“We want to be new, unique, exciting. . . . We believe people want a breath of fresh air and I think we’re giving them that,” Steve Pona, Bullfrog director of public relations and promotions, said. He previously handled media relations for the league.

With four skaters and one goaltender, rather than five skaters and a goaltender, the RHI has crafted a fast-paced, high-scoring, entertaining game.

Still, this could be a make-or-break year for many teams in the RHI, which yearns for mass acceptance. When officials meet at the all-star break July 15 in St. Louis, here are some of the grand, and not so grand, ideas the league should review:

Quarters--Four 12-minute quarters, instead of three 20 minute periods, has been a good idea. Keep it. It’s similar to the NBA or NFL and easy for non-in-line-specific Americans to understand.

Shootouts--Exciting wrinkle to an old idea. Keep it. This isn’t soccer, where teams can go 120 minutes without a score or a ball even reaching the goaltender. There were howls of protest over last week’s 8-7 shootout loss by the Bullfrogs at Oakland, but if ever there was a game that deserved to come down to goalies deciding the outcome, that was it. Anaheim’s Rob Laurie and Oakland’s Cory Cadden had spectacular nights.

Early starts--Many teams have opted for early starting times, particularly on weekends. Add more of these. By starting games at reasonable hours, teams make it palatable for moms and dads to pack the minivan with little wingers, see a game and still get kids home in time for bed.

High schools: Join with hockey-specific publications and vigorously advocate that the sport be accepted by the California Interscholastic Federation. This will add legitimacy in the eyes of parents, the media and older sports fans, who view roller hockey as a fringe activity that kids do on cul-de-sacs when baseball practice is over.

And for those not-so-grand ideas:

Loser friendly--When you lose . . . you lose, period. Right? Not in this era of political correctness, where a shootout loss in the RHI isn’t counted as a loss in a team’s overall record. It’s counted as, ah, ah . . . a nonloss? Each team gets one point in the standings and the result is called an “OTL,” which stands for “overtime loss,” but really should mean “other than a loss.” Bad idea. The Bullfrogs, who lost, 8-7, in a shootout to Oakland a week ago, remain officially undefeated with a record of seven wins, no losses and. . .one something or other. Go figure.

Instant replay--After the fiasco in Oakland, where Bullfrog Victor Gervais’ apparent shootout-winning goal was nullified by a home-town goal judge, the RHI should adopt a policy that requires game officials to review video replays on controversial scores. This is critical if the league allows home teams to select goal judges. The replay of Gervais’ goal showed that the puck sailed over Cadden’s out-stretched glove hand, into and then out of the back of the net and landed about 10 rows up in the stands.

Ice dancers--Anaheim won the initial league championship in 1993 with a team made up of off-season ice hockey, not in-line, skaters. Since then the RHI has evolved into a warm-weather conditioning program for minor-league ice hockey players, most of them foreign-born. These guys are exciting with their outstanding skating abilities, but it would be prudent, particularly in Southern California, for RHI to develop local in-line talent that would have more in common with the much sought-after youth market here, where ice time is limited.

Fighting--Referees are under orders to quickly quell fights and send off offenders. But rough-housing persists. The league should strengthen fighting rules to include the expulsion of any fighter for the remainder of the quarter in which the infraction occurs, as well having those players serve 10 minutes in the penalty box. The fine of a one-game suspension and up to a $100 for fighting should be increased to $500. If this is to be a league that sells itself to children, it should also set an example by demonstrating that wrongdoing will meet with dire consequences.

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Coach for a day: Veteran Brad McCaughey will coach the Bullfrogs tonight when they open a two-game road stand against the Oklahoma Coyotes in Oklahoma City. He’ll fill in for Grant Sonier, who will serve a one-game suspension. Sonier received a game misconduct penalty at the conclusion of the shootout loss at Oakland, resulting in his suspension.

McCaughey, 29, is a player/assistant coach who has scored five goals and assisted on eight others. He hopes to be a head coach someday.

“I’m excited,” McCaughey said. “I hope I have a future in roller hockey. I’d like to capitalize on this if I can.”

A graduate of the University of Michigan, where he earned a degree in sports management and communication, McCaughey was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 1984. In his ice hockey career, he made it as high as the Phoenix Roadrunners, a Kings’ affiliate, in the International Hockey League. He was the Bullfrogs’ assistant team captain in 1993 and ranked third in scoring with 36 points. Last season he set a league record with seven goals in a 16-10 victory over San Jose.

Rather than playing ice hockey, McCaughey remained with the Bullfrogs’ front office last winter, where he helped with a variety of things. He wrote a few columns offering technique tidbits for roller hockey publications. He also did some modeling of roller hockey equipment. His poses appear in several publications, including the Bullfrogs’ yearbook.

McCaughey says he has no plans to play ice hockey again and hopes to remain with the Bullfrogs when the season ends. If not, he’s not sure what he’ll do. A lot of it has to do with what direction the sport takes professionally. There is a lot of speculation in that regard these days. McCaughey has his opinion.

“In order to be successful this sport needs to branch out into its grass roots,” he said. “It’s got to go into the high schools and colleges.”

As for tonight’s game, McCaughey says not to expect too many changes.

“Grant and I think a lot alike,” he said. “We agree on how the game should be played.”

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Bullfrog Notes

The Bullfrogs play four of their next six games on the road, beginning tonight in Oklahoma City against the Coyotes (3-5), who are in last place in the Pacific Division, nine points behind Anaheim. The teams play a rematch in Oklahoma City Friday, then Anaheim returns home for a 6 p.m. Sunday game against San Diego.