Halftime Speech From Coach Pumps Up Flat Bullfrogs
The mark of a good team is to win, even when it’s not totally on its game.
That was the effort turned in by the Bullfrogs Sunday night in front of an announced crowd of 8,525 in a 9-5 Roller Hockey International victory over Sacramento at the Pond.
It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Bullfrogs, who took a four-goal lead, then went flat for all of the second and most of the third quarter. They held off the River Rats, but sometimes it wasn’t pretty. Despite two goals by rookie Glenn Stewart and veteran defenseman Darren Perkins, the Bullfrogs were outshot, 40-34, one of the few times this season that has happened.
Still, the effort was good enough to raise the team’s league-leading record to 12-2-1.
Good enough, that is, unless you are Coach Grant Sonier. He was especially upset with the 20.5 penalty minutes, including a 10-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct in the second quarter assessed to team captain Victor Gervais that came after a Gervais hooking penalty. Both resulted in goals for Sacramento.
Late in the fourth quarter, after Gervais went to the bench following a hooking altercation that referees didn’t penalize, Sonier could be seen leaning over the team captain and dishing out a few choice words.
“Overall, we had a general lack of discipline and I have to remind them that we can’t play like that,” Sonier said. “We can’t be known as the team that can be drawn into penalties or that will be our demise. Teams will come in here and know they can beat us if they work hard and frustrate us.”
To their credit, many of the Bullfrogs heeded another of Sonier’s stirring halftime speeches on the merits of discipline. They came out of the locker room ahead, 5-3, and coolly increased their lead to five goals in the final seven minutes of the third quarter.
When Todd Wetzel was bear-hugged and thrown to the floor by Sacramento’s Martin Bakula in the fourth quarter, Wetzel got up and skated away. With Bakula watching from the penalty box, Wetzel fed Rick Judson, who scored the Bullfrogs’ third power-play goal of the night.
There was no doubting, though, that the Bullfrogs, who play seven games in the next 14 days, were not all here Sunday night.
“We coasted to a win tonight and I let them know it,” Sonier said. “They basically bailed out on our goaltender and, in that light, I think our guys feel pretty bad about it.”
Rob Laurie, making his fourth start in the last five games, played well, and made 35 saves. Usually, he rotates in the lineup with rookie Eric Raymond. But Raymond injured his right knee at a roller hockey exhibition during the all-star break and is listed as day-to-day. Laurie, tops in the league with a 4.75 goals-against average, raised his record to 7-1-1.
“Laurie played very well,” said Sacramento Coach John Black, who lives in Orange in the off-season. “He was just outstanding. He stuffed several attempts by us for a comeback, particularly in the second quarter.”
Said Laurie: “I don’t think I did anything special. Sacramento has a lot of talented players, I just went out to keep that lead.”
Sacramento, which beat the Blades, 9-7, Saturday night, remained in last place in the Northwest Division, 10 points off the pace set by front-running Vancouver.
The Bullfrogs were finally able to put a little space between themselves and second-place Oklahoma, stretching their Pacific Division lead to five points. Oklahoma’s game Saturday against San Jose was postponed because of a wet skating surface in Tulsa.
Bullfrog Notes
Former General Manager Bob Elder met with one of the Bullfrogs’ owners, Nelson Silver, over the weekend to discuss what he termed “contractual things” that led to his departure. Elder would not elaborate, but insisted that he had not been fired. Nelson Silver, who has taken an increasing role in running the financially-tight club this season, has reconsidered keeping Elder, who has been with the club since its inception. Elder said he would meet once again with the Silver family in about three weeks after taking a vacation with his family. It’s believed that the long-time Orange County radio and television personality, who said he has turned down several recent job offers, had grown frustrated with the way the front office was run and pressed to streamline various operating divisions under his control. Several key figures in the Bullfrog organization have been fired or have resigned recently, including radio personality Lew Stowers, who was let go last week.