The Florida Everblades lost for the third straight time to the South Carolina Stingrays, the latest being a 3-1 defeat Friday night at Germain Arena.

After dropping two tough ones to the Stingrays last week on the road, the Everblades were looking to set a more determined tone Friday. Knowing they would be hungry after last week, the Stingrays managed to match the Everblades’ energy level and held off the home team.

South Carolina drew first blood, beating Florida goalie Bobby Goepfert (28 saves) with less than 30 seconds to play in the first period. A bad turnover near Florida’s blue line led to the Stingrays’ goal.

“We lost too many one-on-one battles (and) lost the puck too often in our zone,” said Everblades coach Greg Poss. “When we don’t have everyone showing up, doing all the little things all the time, it’s hard to win a game.”

The Stingrays scored almost immediately on a nice play off the third-period faceoff.

Elgin Reid scored the Blades’ lone goal in the final minute of regulation after Goepfert was pulled to gain a one-man advantage.

The Everblades face the Stingrays again Saturday night, the final time they meet at Germain Arena in the regular season.

The Blades, who are six points behind the Stingrays in the south division standings, are fighting to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time in team history.