ECHL: Everblades return home after physical western trip

Florida (6-3-3) managed to escape the gauntlet of five games in six nights at .500 (2-2-1) and was able to maintain its hold on first place in the Eastern Conference's Southern Division.

The team flew home from Las Vegas on Monday after ending the swing with a 1-0 loss Sunday in Bakersfield, Calif., to the Condors.

"You always want to do better than .500, but we were in every game and had an opportunity to win every game," said Everblades head coach Gerry Fleming by phone Monday shortly before boarding the return flight to Fort Myers. "We learned a lot about our team on this trip."

Florida's next four games are at home inside the friendly confines of TECO Arena, starting with back-to-back games this weekend against the Charlotte Checkers. The Florence Pride come to town the following weekend for two games.

Over the course of one week on the other side of the continent, the Everblades were outscored 18-17 and found themselves in a few physical battles with unfamiliar teams.

In the opener, they pulled out a 5-4 overtime victory over the Las Vegas Wranglers, but then turned in their worst performance the next night in Long Beach, twice blowing two-goal leads in a 6-4 loss.

After a day off in San Diego, the Blades fought the Gulls to a 5-5 regulation tie before losing the shootout, but rebounded the next day with a 3-1 win over the Gulls, setting the stage for the finale in Bakersfield.

"It was a good trip. Five in six is always tough to do," Everblades goaltender Rob Zepp said. "But I thought the results were good, going .500 against some good teams. Vegas and San Diego are good teams."

Fleming said his players showed a lot of character throughout the week, especially after losing center Reggie Berg to a concussion in the first San Diego game. Defenseman Ian Forbes hurt his back in the same game but played through the pain on Saturday and Sunday.

Forwards Keith Anderson and Brian McCullough now find themselves tied for the league lead in scoring with 21 points. Anderson has 11 goals and 10 assists and McCullough has seven goals and 14 assists.

Anderson's nine-game goal scoring streak and 10-game scoring streak came to an end against Bakersfield.

"They (the Condors) came after us right from the start and took it to us hard," Fleming said. "I liked the way we didn't just die. It was the last game of the trip, we could have cashed it in but we kept on fighting until the final horn."

Now that the players get to sleep in their own beds again -- something Zepp said he was looking forward to all week -- Fleming hopes to see even more consistent play.