The Florida Everblades returned to Germain Arena Friday night and ended their two-game losing streak with a dominant 5-2 victory over the Gwinnett Gladiators.

“It was (our) most complete game in a long time,” said Everblades coach Greg Poss. “In our last (three wins), we were outplayed in the third period, but this was the first time in a long time where we played well for all three periods.”

The Blades scored just over a minute into the game when Elgin Reid took a perfect pass from Matt Beca while on a 3-on-2 breakaway for his 5th goal of year.

Gwinnett answered, tying the game 8 1/2 minutes later, getting a shot past Jaroslav Janus.

The teams entered the second period tied at 1-1. This time it was the Gladiators who scored quickly, taking a 2-1 lead less than a minute into the period. From there, the Everblades clamped down defensively, while tallying three goals of their own.

Led by the line of Beca, Alexandre Imbeault and Francis Lemieux, the Blades took control immediately following the Gladiators’ second goal. Six minutes of continuous pressure resulted in Imbeault’s 29th goal of the year.

Four minutes later, the line hooked up again, this time with a two-man advantage and Beca gave the Blades a 3-2 lead.

“Tonight all three of us just worked hard and played smart with the puck,” said Beca.

Jared Staal made it 4-2 with 1:06 to go in the second period, and the Blades never looked back. Tony Mosey scored a keeper 5:38 into the final frame to round out the scoring.

The Blades (29-24-3) host the Gladiators Saturday night at Germain Arena.