The Florida Everblades defensive woes continued in dropping their second straight game on home ice, this time to the Trenton Devils 3-2 Tuesday night.

The Everblades (9-9) started by scoring the first goal when Mitch Fadden tallied his ninth of the year off a pass from Francis Lemieux to beat Devils net minder Jeff Lerg.

The Blades carried the 1-0 lead into the second period before the Devils found their scoring touch, tallying all three goals in the middle frame, thanks to bad turnovers and poor defense.

“In the second period we fell asleep,” said Blades coach Greg Poss. “It wasn’t so much the three goals as it was that we got totally outworked. We have to learn to work for 60 minutes.”

The Everblades found their work ethic in the third period, getting back into the contest after Alexandre Imbeault drove the net for a score, but the effort was too little, too late.

“The bottom line is that we just aren’t working for 60 minutes,” said Poss.

The Everblades and Devils skate again Wednesday night at Germain Arena before the Blades embark on a five-game road trip over eight days.

The disappointing overall effort for most of the year has team president Craig Brush puzzled for answers, too.