Talented Everblades start to gel
All the talent that Florida Everblades President Craig Brush and new head coach Malcolm Cameron assembled in the offseason definitely had problems getting their act together through the first four games, which left them with a 2-2 record.
They won twice with dominating performances together with two mediocre ones, which led to their losses.
Those letdowns appear to have been solved on the first road trip this past week, during which the Blades won two of three games over four nights and earn five of six possible points in the ECHL’s South Division of the American Conference.
“I think we probably played our best game in the overtime loss (Friday night) against South Carolina,” said Cameron. “We are certainly pleased with five out of six points and now we can focus on this homestand.”
One of the key things that the Everblades (4-2-1) may have settled while on the road was their special teams play, particularly the power play.
In the last two games, the Blades’ power play unit converted an impressive seven of 15 attempts on the man advantage.
“We have a lot of guys that can finish and are creative with the puck,” said Cameron. “Sometimes, guys who are talented think they can score (on the power play) easier, but in order to be successful on the power play you have to work as hard as on the penalty killers and we really saw that this weekend. I think that (success) will continue.”
Further helping the Blades is the return of 2007 ECHL All-Star Yannick Tifu, who has been on call-up to the AHL since the start of the season. He had yet to play in an Everblades jersey before Monday night at Gwinnett.
His addition put another smile on Cameron’s face.
“It makes us a deeper team, that’s for sure,” he said. “With Tifu, it certainly gives us two very dynamic power play units. So we are very excited about the addition of him.”
Despite all the good things Cameron saw from the squad over the weekend, his focus right now is on the Gwinnett Gladiators (2-2), who the Everblades face this weekend at Germain Arena.
If the Blades want to continue their winning streak this weekend: “We need to be a little more sound defensively, and I think we need to stop trying to hit a home run when we get the puck in our defensive zone,” Cameron said.
Fans get their first chance to see Tifu at Germain Arena and the gelling Everblades Friday night.