When Anthony Stewart is killing time after practice or on the bus, he's often hooked up to his iPod.

A little music is always good to ease the mind and soothe the soul.

He might want to consider adding a song to his playlist, though: Expect the Unexpected by Dog Eat Dog.

That could certainly be Stewart's motto for the first two months

Stewart was Florida's first round draft pick, 25th overall, in the 2003 entry draft.

Stewart finds a few bumps in the road
Amerks return home for six-game homestand

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Next Game
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Who: Binghamton Senators at Rochester Americans
When: Friday, November 10, 2006; 7:35 PM
Where: Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial
TV: B2 Networks
Radio: WHTK 1280-AM
Internet: mms://168.75.182.197/rochester
Web site: www.amerks.com

So far: The Amerks have won the first two meetings, 2-1 in a shootout at home on Oct. 13 and 3-2 at Binghamton on Oct. 14.

The Florida Everblades left Germain Arena a week ago as a struggling .500 team trying to find its identity. The Blades return tonight tied for second place in the American Conference's South Division thanks to a 3-1 Ohio road trip.

"I think we're getting better every day. We're no where near where we want to be but we're starting to build a foundation for that," said Blades coach Gerry Fleming, whose club will kick off a five-game homestand tonight at Germain Arena. Florida (5-3) will play the Columbia Inferno (3-3) tonight and Saturday and then host the Pensacola Ice Pilots (1-8) for three games next week.

In the franchise's first Northern road trip, the Blades beat the Cincinnati Cyclones twice, the Toledo Storm once and dropped a game to the Dayton Bombers. It was a successful road trip off the ice, too. The players bonded during their down time — on the team bus, in the airplane, in the hotel.

Everblades return home on a roll

Starting tonight, every game for the Florida Everblades might as well be a playoff game.

Thanks to a curious schedule to say the least, all 64 of Florida’s remaining ECHL games are against South Division opponents, with the Columbia Inferno first in line at Germain Arena for a three-game series.

Last week’s four-game road trip through the state of Ohio was it as far as non-conference and non-division games go for the Everblades (5-3-0), and from here on out points will be at a premium.

“That first game home after you’ve come off of a good road trip sometimes there’s a little bit of a letdown,” said Everblades head coach Gerry Fleming. “We’re done playing outside our division right now so every game and each point are critical.”

Blades set to open series with Inferno

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Next Game
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Who: Columbia Inferno at Florida Everblades
When: Friday, November 9, 2006; 7:30 PM
Where: Germain Arena
TV: B2 Network
Radio: Sportsradio 770 AM
Internet: www.abc-7.com
Web site: www.floridaeverblades.com