As is expected, taking three straight games from any opponent, in any sport is difficult.

Such was the case for the Florida Everblades Saturday night at Germain Arena as they looked to make it tjree in a row over the Kalamazoo Wings.

It took overtime and a shootout, but the Everblades accomplished their mission with a 4-3 shootout victory.

“It was really important to come out as well as we did,” said Blades coach Greg Poss. “I thought (the first period) was our best 20 minutes of hockey so far this year.”

Bucking a trend through their first seven games, the Everblades (5-3) got on the scoreboard first Saturday night when defenseman Elgin Reid beat Wings goalie Ryan Nie less than 10 minutes into the game, on a power play, to begin a dominance that saw the Blades head into the first intermission with a commanding 3-1 lead.

The Wings, not wanting to leave Southwest Florida on a three-game losing streak, came back firing in the second, firing 19 shots at Blades starting netminder Jaroslav Janus. The barrage had Florida on its heels the entire period and resulted in a goal for the Wings.

The Wings kept the pressure on in the third period, eventually tying the game 3-3 with just over 10 minutes to play in regulation, but the Everblades held their ground, forcing overtime and eventually winning in the shoot out 2-0.

“I thought that at the end of the first period we started to get a little sloppy and that carried over into the second period,” said Poss. “I was happy that we stabilized in the third period because a lot of times we have such a bad period we have a tendency to come out of rhythm and lose confidence and we didn’t do that.”

The three-game win streak is especially important as the Blades head out on a two-week, six-game road trip beginning Friday with three consecutive games against division rival South Carolina.