Bullfrogs Stay in Control While Beating VooDoo

The rough-and-tumble Bullfrogs did something Thursday night they haven’t done too well for several weeks: Skate.

After being criticized about needless penalties by its coach, the media, and even the club’s owner, Anaheim turned on its wheels, displayed some deft skating in scoring three times in the final quarter for an 8-4 Roller Hockey International victory over the Vancouver VooDoo in front of an announced crowd of 9,565 at The Pond.

The victory stopped a two-game losing streak for Pacific Division-leading Anaheim (13-2-1). It also put an end to a frustrating couple of weeks that was part roller hockey and part fight night. Anaheim ranks third in the league in penalty minutes. Thursday night the team received only 28 minutes in penalties. The Bullfrogs were still penalized twice as much as Vancouver, but the players appeared to be much more in control of themselves.

“We were getting too loose out there lately,” Rick Judson, who had two goals, said. “We thought we could just go out and skate and win any time.”

It was Vancouver’s turn to brawl Thursday. VooDoo Coach Tiger Williams, upset with penalties he thought should have been called, grabbed Referee Michael Voyer at the conclusion of the game and was handed a misconduct penalty.

Vancouver, which beat the Bullfrogs, 10-5, Tuesday night in Canada, dropped to 8-4 and remains two points behind front-running San Jose in the Northwest Division. San Jose plays in Anaheim Sunday.

“Tonight we were a much more controlled team,” Bullfrog Coach Grant Sonier said. “We had some fresh legs in the lineup. We had been a tired hockey club.”

The Bullfrogs outshot Vancouver, 41-30. Anaheim, tops in the league in power-play goals, scored on three of four power-play attempts and killed eight Voodoo penalties.

Anaheim goaltender Chris Gordon stopped 26 shots, including several in the final minutes.

A sharp piece of skating by B.J. MacPherson netted a 5-1 second-half lead for Anaheim. Skating shoulder to shoulder with the VooDoo’s Brent Thurston, MacPherson stepped around the defender and beat goaltender Bob Bell.

Vancouver scored three times to crawl within a goal with 9 1/2 minutes left in the game. But the Bullfrogs retaliated with three of their own in the final 5:03.

Bullfrog Note

Because of incorrect information provided by the Bullfrogs, a story in Thursday’s Times said Anaheim’s Victor Gervais and Darren Perkins had been suspended for the game against Vancouver. They were not.