The #4 seed Georgia Swarm hosted the #5 seed Buffalo Bandits at Gas South Arena in a first-round playoff game Saturday night. The Swarm are coming off a doubleheader sweep of Rochester in the final week of the regular season, and hosting a playoff game for the first time since 2019. Buffalo had their seven-game winning streak snapped by Oshawa last week, and fell to the #5 seed as a result, forcing them to start their quest for a championship four-peat on the road. Further complicating matters for the Bandits, captain and top defender Steve Priolo was put on Injured Reserve prior to the game. Lyle Thompson had a 10-point night, and three other Swarm players recorded hat tricks as Georgia rolled to a 17-10 victory. The Swarm now advance to the semifinals, where they will take on the Halifax Thunderbirds in a best-of-three series.
Georgia dominates all facets of the game in taking first half lead
Lyle Thompson wasted little time getting the Swarm on the board, scoring just 40 seconds into the game. Dylan Robinson scored in transition at 6:14 to even the score, but Kaleb Benedict went back-to-back (7:13; 11:31) to give Georgia a 3-1 lead after the first quarter. Unfortunately for the Swarm, rookie defender Michael Grace went down with a non-contact injury to his right leg late in the first quarter, and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Nolan Byrne (1:18) extended the Swarm’s lead to 4-1 to start the second quarter. Ian MacKay responded for the Bandits at 2:27, but Georgia then went on a four-goal run. A pair of goals from both Nolan Byrne (4:44 power play; 6:33 power play) and Shayne Jackson (5:50; 7:00) gave the Swarm an 8-2 lead. Clay Scanlan broke the run (9:48), but Richie Connell’s first playoff goal (12:05) restored a six-goal edge for Georgia, 9-3. Buffalo took advantage of a pair of defensive mishaps by the Swarm late in the half, getting goals from Cam Wyers (13:07) and Mitch de Snoo (14:27) to cut the deficit to 9-5 at halftime.
Georgia keeps Bandits in check in second half to end 4-peat quest
Thompson stifled any attempt by Buffalo to build on their end of first half momentum by scoring quickly yet again to open the second half (1:38). After Joe Resetarits (6:41) cut the lead to 10-6, the Bandits looked poised to climb back into the game when a collision between Ben Trumble and Josh Byrne near the Buffalo bench led to Trumble being assessed a major penalty. Officials reduced the infraction to a minor penalty after review, which appeared to show Byrne embellishing the hit to some degree. Georgia not only killed the penalty, but converted a turnover by the Bandits into a goal by Trumble on a breakaway as he was coming out of the penalty box (11:05). Bryan Cole followed with a goal on the doorstep of the Bandits crease (14:22) to give Georgia a 12-6 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Thompson hit “repeat” to start the fourth, netting his hat trick goal (1:26). Connell’s second (2:37) and Thompson’s fourth (4:00) gave Georgia a commanding 15-6 lead. MacKay scored back-to-back power play goals (4:52; 6:45) to reduce the lead to 15-8. The Swarm kept their foot on the gas, with Jackson netting his hat trick goal (9:58 power play), and Connell scoring his hat trick on a last-second jump shot (10:50) for a 17-8 lead. The Bandits closed out the scoring with goals from Kyle Buchanan (14:01) and Josh Byrne (14:14), as their quest for an unprecedented fourth straight championship came to a end.
Other Stats Of Note
Buffalo: MacKay (3g, 2a); Josh Byrne (1g, 5a); Resetarits (1g, 2a); de Snoo (1g, 1a); Robinson (1g); Wyers (1g); Scanlan (1g); Dhane Smith (2a);
Georgia: Thompson (4g, 6a); Nolan Byrne (3g, 3a); Jackson (3g, 2a); Connell (3g, 2a); Benedict (2g, 4a); Cole (1g, 3a); Trumble (1g); Kean Moon (6a)
Matt Vinc (BUF): 34 saves; Brett Dobson (GA): 36 saves
Power Play: BUF 1 for 2; GA 3 for 4
