Cook Lifts Bullfrogs’ RHI Championship Hopes

ANAHEIM —  A couple of weeks ago, Joe Cook drew the wrath of Bullfrog owners when he left the club in the middle of a playoff run to play for the United States in the World Inline Hockey Championships.

Cook led the United States to a gold medal, scoring four goals in the championship game against Canada.

Here, some were thinking of firing him. After Friday night, all is forgotten.

Cook capped a furious Bullfrog rally late in Game 1 of the Murphy Cup finals at the Pond, scoring two goals in 23 seconds as the Bullfrogs rallied to beat Orlando, 9-8, in front of 10,511.

Cook’s heroics helped erase a three-goal deficit for the Bullfrogs, who go to Florida for Game 2 of the Roller Hockey International championship series, which is Sunday at 4 p.m. Game 3, if needed, is Monday at 4 p.m. in Orlando.

Orlando outscored the Bullfrogs, 4-1, in the second quarter to take a three-goal lead at halftime.

“We just can’t play this game when we’re standing still,” Bullfrog Coach Grant Sonier said. “We got up on our toes in the second half and that was the difference.”

Victor Gervais, who has been hampered with an injured back, stickhandled around the Jackal defense after taking a pass from defender Sean Whyte and shot the puck past goaltender Billy Horn to cut Orlando’s lead to 7-5. Then Rick Judson scored off a pass from Savo Mitrovic with three minutes left in the quarter.

The teams traded goals, and then Cook went to work. He tied the game with a wrist shot from about 30 feet in front of Horn with 4 minutes 14 seconds left. Moments later he scored the game-winner with a backhand shot.

“The first one was right on the net. All I had to do was aim it,” Cook said. “He [Horn] had [Glenn] Stewart and Sean Whyte in front of him and he’s a little guy and I figured he couldn’t see me.”

“The second one I just went hard to the net, took Victor’s pass and just had to skate side to side.”

Stewart scored a power-play goal off his rebound in the first minute of play, but Orlando’s Hugo Proulx scored soon after.

Savo Mitrovic put the Bullfrogs on top, 2-1, but former Bullfrog Daniel Shank, who finished with two goals, countered to make it 2-2.

Todd Wetzel’s shot from about 40 feet away gave the Bullfrogs the lead, 3-2, but Shank scored with 8:17 left in the second quarter.

Defenseman Darren Perkins, who has been quiet in the playoffs, put the Bullfrogs on top, 4-3, with a power-play goal with 7:45 seconds left to play, but Kevin Kerr tied the score 1:30 later by getting his rebound and beating Bullfrog goaltender Rob Laurie to his glove side.

The Jackals took advantage of several Bullfrog mental mistakes.

Proulx, allowed to float outside the crease just in front of Laurie, picked up his second goal off a nice back pass from Kyle Reeves with 6:11 left in the half.

Just 1:30 later, Whyte failed to pick up a loose puck at the top of the circle just inside the Bullfrog zone and Kerr alertly fired a slap shot that sailed over Laurie’s shoulder.

Jackal defender Ronalds Ozolinsh made it 7-4 with 1:20 left in the quarter with his first goal of the playoffs.