Everblades bounce back after losses
The weekend didn’t start off the way the Florida Everblades wanted, but after a dominating 4-1 win over the Gwinnett Gladiators on Saturday night, it ended the way they wanted.
Throughout this season, a disturbing trend has developed for the Everblades squad: After an extended period between games, the team comes out flat and seemingly without the desire to win.
Twice during December, the Blades came back from at least a five-day break only to lose in disappointing fashion. The worst of these lapses came after the week-long Christmas break. Upon their return, the Everblades looked listless and uninspired, leading to losing a season-worst three-game skid. Fortunately for the Blades, it took only one game to fix whatever it is that ails them after these sometimes long stretches between games.
“I’d like to think it was my wrath,” joked Everblades coach Malcolm Cameron. “The guys know that when they don’t play hard I get miserable and I’m no fun to be around. Even if we had lost (Saturday night) with the effort we had put in, it still would have been a good day for the Everblades.”
Cameron’s mantra has been for the Everblades to play a “full 60 minutes of hockey.” In hockey, this doesn’t always mean skillful goal scoring – which the Everblades get plenty of on most nights – but it also means playing tough, physical hockey, particularly on home ice.
To that end, Cameron got exactly what he wanted Saturday night.
“We battled hard. We stuck together as a team. Guys stood up for each other, we played physical. We really established somewhat of a dominance in our own building,” explained Cameron.
Fear is what the Everblades instilled in the Gladiators early on when just over four minutes into the contest Blades enforcer Patrick Bordeleau took Gladiator Chris Cava to the ice following a crowd cheering brawl which helped sparked the Blades to a rare two-goal opening period.
From that point on, the Blades were on cruise control, offensively and defensively, and it was obvious that Gwinnett never stood a chance on that night.
“We are going to wear (teams) down,” said Cameron. “That’s the style that we play and that’s the style that is successful in the playoffs.”
For Saturday night, at least, it was more like “wearing out” their opponent, as opposed to wearing them down.
The Blades are off until Friday, Jan. 30 when they hit the road for a weekend set of games at South Carolina, before returning to Germain Arena Feb. 2.