Justin Ivey, Beat Writer New England Black Wolves
Lacrosse is Awesome
There was a lot going on at Mohegan Sun Friday night. Chris Hogan, wide receiver for the champion New England Patriots and former lacrosse stand out at Penn State University, signed autographs and an honorary one day contract with the Black Wolves. Native American Heritage night brought a message of equality; an old-school stick maker; and a pre-game ceremony and blessing. A fundraising campaign challenge between the two teams looked to raise money for Native Vision for every goal scored. There was a silent auction with signed memorabilia and the signatures of the Thompson brothers all over the table, and the Tewaaraton Award Trophy was on display. Oh, and there was a lacrosse game. The Georgia Swarm came to New England looking for redemption after losing their last match in Connecticut. They came out determined to show they are the best team in the East and did just that. New England would try to put together runs to get back in the game but would not succeed. Final Score: Georgia 21—New England 12.
From the start of the first quarter Georgia was hot. After collecting their rebound off of a first possession shot, Randy Staats (5G, 6A) would find the back of the net. Staats would get the next one too, going two for three on his first three shots in the first two minutes of game time. Miles Thompson (2G, 3A) would make it three to nothing on a power play goal 3:38 in. Brett Bucktooth (1G) would finally get New England on the board 4:55 in with a transition take. 
That would only be a small bump in Georgia’s scoring flurry. Lyle Thompson (2G, 4A) was next with the extra attacker on a delayed penalty on the floor. Shayne Jackson (1G, 6A) got one past goaltender Evan Kirk as he tried to slide across the crease to block the quick stick. Johnny Powless (3G, 4A) would get the final goal of the quarter off an impeccable behind the back pass from Shayne Jackson. Evan Kirk would be pulled from net and replaced by Rookie Doug Jamieson. The first quarter would end with the score Georgia 6—New England 1.
The second quarter would start just like the first. A high sticking major to Georgia at the end of the first left them man down, but Staats would score a shorthanded goal. New England would finally get some momentum during the five-minute major with Shawn Evans (1G, 3A) and Reilly O’Connor (1G, 1A) both finding the net to make the score 7-3. Evans goal was a pretty behind the back goal that you should see on an upcoming episode of Versus. With the even strength, Georgia took over again with three straight goals, one each from Lyle Thompson; Powless; and Kiel Matisz (3G, 3A). Kevin Crowley (3G, 3A) would get on the board with the next two goals. The second was an absolute power move as he used the truck stick on his defender, stepped back and fired a laser past Mike Poulin. Sheldon Burns (1G, 1A) would get the last of the three unassisted on a turnover. Georgia would answer though. Matisz would find the net for the second time in the quarter to bring us to halftime with the score Georgia 11—New England 6.
Third quarter started with a similar name. Randy Staats. This time it was a power-play goal to start the quarter and extend the lead to six goals. Bad coverage on transition gave the opening to Ethan O’Connor (1G) to extend that lead to seven just 2:32 into the second half. Down 13-6 now, New England put together another run. Joel Coyle (1G, 1A) scored the first, off a beautiful assist from Derek Searle (1A) in transition as he crossed goal line extended on a breakaway. Kevin Crowley got the second, and Kevin Buchanan (2G, 2A) netted the third in the run to get the Black Wolves within four goals of Georgia. Shawn Evans appeared to score a tricky goal dancing and jumping on the crease, but after review it would be waved off. 
Momentum after that shifted right back to Georgia. Jordan Hall (2G, 5A) scored on the power play along Powless to get the lead back to six. One more goal from each team would close the quarter. Chad Culp (1G, 1A) would score for New England and Chad Tutton (1G) would answer for Georgia. The score at the end of three was Georgia 16—New England 10.
The fourth quarter would be all Georgia. The trend continued with Staats scoring the first of the frame, but Kevin Buchanan would answer with a shorthanded goal 3:24 in. Then another flurry from Georgia who would score four unanswered: Matisz on the power-play; Miles Thompson; Hall on the power-play; and Powless on yet another power-play. The Swarm just looked like a well-oiled machine, determined to assert their East Division grip. After the run, the lead was 21-11, the second game in a row scoring 21 goals for Georgia. Kyle Buchanan would score with under a minute left against Adam Shute, who replaced Mike Poulin in the fourth to see his first NLL action in net. Final score: Georgia 21—New England 12.
UP NEXT:
Georgia hosts Buffalo on Saturday, April 15 at 7:05 PM.
New England travels to Saskatchewan on Saturday, April 15 at 9:30 PM.
Justin Ivey, Beat Writer New England Black Wolves
Lacrosse is Awesome