Weary Bullfrogs Defeat New York

The Bullfrogs opened the second half of Major League Roller Hockey Wednesday night at the Arrowhead Pond by quelling the undermanned New York Riot, 16-1.

But their thoughts were on a tiring five-game, eight-day trip that concluded just hours before they skated in front of an announced crowd of 6,109, smallest of the season. Many considered the trip to be the most bewildering of their professional careers.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. Nothing in minor league ice hockey was as bad as that trip,” forward B.J. MacPherson said.

All-day bus rides, soggy playing surfaces, poor crowds and tiny venues in small-market towns left several Bullfrogs (11-0) wondering about the future of their franchise.

They were bleary-eyed after their return trip from South Carolina. It began at 4 a.m. with a two-hour bus ride from Florence to Myrtle Beach, a flight to Charlotte and then a cross-country connection home.

Team captain Darren Perkins and others agreed that the caliber of play in hard-fought victories against Virginia, Orlando and Tampa Bay was better than most expected and surely better than that of the Riot (1-3-1), which the league recently took over.

Two other MLRH teams were recently sold, a couple more are said to be in trouble and the six-team British Division has yet to begin play.

“I don’t see a future for this league,” MacPherson said.

With all the extended travel, the Bullfrogs haven’t practiced since June 28 and glitches in flooring delayed at least two games on the trip.

“They have to learn not to wet mop them,” Perkins said. “They were all soggy. There was water under the tile. We were sliding all over.”

Defenseman Sean Whyte said that several East Coast ice hockey referees weren’t familiar with MLRH rules and twice refused to allow teams to switch zones at the end of each quarter.

Playing halls were small. So were the crowds. MLRH averages about 1,800 spectators, boosted substantially by the Bullfrogs’ announced average of 7,033.

Goaltender Rob Laurie summed up the trip as a learning experience.

“It reminded me of the first year of Roller Hockey International,” he said. “Except it’s smaller.”