The Georgia Swarm hosted the Halifax Thunderbirds at Gas South Arena for the second of two meetings this season. Halifax came into the game following a loss to Toronto the week prior that left them farther outside the playoff window. Meanwhile, the Swarm, who won the first meeting between the teams in Week 10, had lost their last two games, and were averaging just over seven goals scored per game in their last three games.
There would be no shortage of offense on either side in this game, as Georgia swept the series with a 17-16 victory on Jordan MacIntosh’s goal with 18 seconds left in the game. The Swarm improve to 9-5, and will have at least a share of second or third place with Toronto, pending the result of Colorado’s game on Saturday night. Halifax drops to 5-9, and likely must win all of their remaining four games to have a shot at the postseason.
Eight-goal run gives Swarm commanding first half lead
Georgia got out to a quick 2-0 lead on a power play goal from Nolan Byrne (2:40) and a sidearm rocket form Mike Triolo (3:21). Mike Robinson (4:27) responded for Halifax, but the Swarm then went on an eight-goal run into the second quarter. Byrne (5:48) netted his second, followed by a transition marker from Jacob Hickey (6:28). Halifax goaltender Warren Hill was pulled in favor of Drew Hutchison, who was greeted by a transition goal from Seth van Schepen (7:20). Byrne then scored his hat trick goal (11:04) before Lyle Thompson scored on a power play with five seconds left for a 7-1 first quarter lead.
The Swarm run continued into the second quarter, with goals from Shayne Jackson (0:34), Richie Connell (2:50) and Adam Wiedemann (3:11) extending the lead to 10-1. Hill returned to the Halifax net after Jackson’s goal. The Thunderbirds finally woke up and broke the run, getting a goal from Austin Blumbergs (4:37) and back-to-back goals from Cody Jamieson (4:53; 7:58) to cut the lead to 10-4. Connell tacked on another goal at 8:50 to give the Swarm an 11-4 lead going into halftime.
Swarm win on late goal after furious fourth quarter rally from Halifax
Georgia kept their foot on the gas to start the third quarter, as Bryan Cole (4:57), Jackson’s second (6:45), and Byrne’s fourth (7:39 power play) brought the lead to 14-4. Back-to-back goals from Robinson (10:29; 12:39) made it 14-6 before Michael Grace beat both Hill and the third quarter buzzer (14:59) as the Swarm headed into the final frame leading 15-6. The fourth quarter began with Clarke Petterson going back-to-back (2:09 power play; 5:42), and Stephen Keogh (7:28) finishing a three-goal run for the Thunderbirds. Kaleb Benedict responded for Georgia (8:28 power play) to give the Swarm a seven-goal lead, 16-9. With the game seemingly out of reach, Devlin Shanahan replaced Brett Dobson in the Georgia net.
However, Halifax had other plans, namely climbing back into the game and the playoff picture. A goal from Will MacLeod (9:09) and a second from Keogh (9:45) reduced the deficit to 16-11. Petterson’s third of the quarter (10:15), a second goal from Blumbergs (11:49), and Petterson’s fourth (12:55 power play) narrowed the lead to 16-14. Keogh struck again with 1:17 left to make it a one-goal game, and Dobson returned to the Georgia net after Shanahan allowed six goals on nine Halifax shots. Keogh (14:10) greeted Dobson by shooting through his legs with his back to the net for his fourth goal of the quarter and the Thunderbirds’ tenth goal of the quarter to level the game at 16-16. The Swarm would have the last laugh, as Jordan MacIntosh went the length of the floor to beat Hill with 18 seconds left for the eventual game-winner.
Other Stats Of Note
Thunderbirds: Petterson (4g, 6a); Keogh (4g, 1a); Robinson (3g, 3a); Jamieson (2g, 3a); Blumbergs (2g); MacLeod (1g, 1a); Graeme Hossack (3a); Brendan Bomberry (2a); Jason Knox (2a); Ryan Terefenko (2a); Colton Armstrong (2a); Nonkon Thompson (1a)
Swarm: Byrne (4g); Jackson (2g, 7a); Connell (2g, 2a); Thompson (1g, 6a); MacIntosh (1g, 3a); Wiedemann (1g, 2a); Triolo (1g, 2a); Benedict (1g, 2a); Grace (1g, 1a); Cole (1g, 1a); van Schepen (1g); Hickey (1g); Jeff Henrick (1a)
The win is the 150th of Swarm head coach Ed Comeau’s NLL career; he ranks second all-time in the league in coaching victories.
Jake Withers (HFX): 35-36 Faceoffs; 22 Loose Balls; 2 Blocked Shots
Power Play: HFX 2 for 4; GA 4 for 5
