Bullfrogs Forced to Dig Deeper

Perhaps it had something to do with the 17-day layoff, but the Bullfrogs’ 9-7 victory over the South Carolina Fire Ants in front of an announced crowd of 6,793 Saturday at the Arrowhead Pond wasn’t merely another boring Bullfrog blowout.

It took three late goals in the fourth quarter by the Bullfrogs (19-0) to stay unbeaten. They face Major League Roller Hockey’s other unbeaten team, Orlando, Thursday at the Pond.

“With Orlando and the playoffs coming up, we needed this kind of game,” Bullfrog Coach Todd Gordon said. “We were rusty, but I give South Carolina credit.”

The Bullfrogs outshot their opponent, 52-23, but South Carolina (7-10-1) didn’t fold despite trailing, 6-1, midway through the second quarter.

It wasn’t until John Hanson broke a 6-6 tie with 7:43 to play in the game that the Bullfrogs regained the lead for good. A minute and a half later, Bill Lund beat South Carolina goalie Ken Shepard.

Virginia’s Todd Maciaac scored with 2:16 to go to cut the lead to 8-7, but B.J. MacPherson’s backhander with 22 seconds left clinched the victory.

Notes

Journeyman goaltender Steve Sinclair, who has suited up for three different MLRH teams this season, was in uniform for the Bullfrogs Saturday, replacing back-up goaltender James Jensen. . . . The Bullfrogs announced that Saturday’s game would be forward Mark Woolf’s last, but he said he would know by mid-week whether his Scottish ice hockey team will let him stay for Thursday’s game against unbeaten Orlando. . . . The muddled playoff picture is becoming a little clearer, although it’s still not clear whether the champion of the English Division will participate in post-season play. The league announced the second- and third-place finishers in the Coastal Division will play a one-game playoff to determine who faces the Bullfrogs, winners of the division, at the Pond, but it is not clear whether that would be considered a quarterfinal or semifinal contest, or when it would be held. The Bullfrogs won the Coastal Division. With four games remaining, Washington, New York and Philadelphia are separated by four points in the battle for second place. Virginia and Tampa Bay have clinched playoff spots in the Southern Division, which was won by Orlando. Virginia will host the playoff with Tampa Bay Aug. 17. Columbus has clinched the Great Lakes Division, but Buffalo, Port Huron and Toronto are separated by three points for second place. . . Virginia’s 38-6 victory over Philadelphia Friday signaled more trouble for MLRH, which has had to take over two teams. Philadelphia has had difficulty fielding a full squad in the last few weeks. Former Bullfrog Hugo Belanger scored 11 goals and had 15 assists. He leads MLRH in goals (57) and assists (60).