Shawn Palmer, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Micheline V
The Rochester Knighthawks (2-2) hosted the Georgia Swarm (2-3) at the Blue Cross Arena in front of 3,157 fans on Friday night January 21, 2022. Rochester had not played in over a month and Georgia was trying to snap a two game losing streak. In a game where Georgia’s third leading scorer, Shayne Jackson, was placed on the COVID Protocol list and missing his first game since joining the NLL in 2013, the Swarm needed to find scoring from other players and in the end would see 10 different players do just that. Final Score: Swarm 12—Knighthawks 8.
The Swarm came out firing in the first quarter as Ethan Walker (2G) who would score his first career NLL goal was at the top and with a side arm shot beating Rochester net minder Rylan Hartley (45 saves) stick side to open the scoring just 22 seconds in. Right off of the ensuing faceoff Ryan MacSpayden (1G) picked up a loose ball and went on a breakaway taking a shot that beat Hartley over the shoulder to double the lead 2-0 after 31 seconds. The Swarm would continue the scoring while on the power play when Brendan Bomberry (2G) fired an over hand shot over the shoulder, hitting the cross bar then straight down touching the mesh and bouncing out. Originally it was not considered a goal but after a coaches challenge it was over turned and the lead increased to 3 – 0 less than three minutes into the first. Rochester finally made it onto the board when Charlie Bertrand (1G, 1A) beat his man down the middle and his shot beat the Swarm’s goalie Mike Poulin (41 saves) over the shoulder cutting the lead 3 – 1. Two minutes later Georgia would get that marker back when Bryan Cole (1G, 2A), back from the COVID list, picked up a rebound and with a high to low shot beat Hartley to the five hole to restore the Swarm’s three goal lead. The final goal of the first happened on the power play when Georgia’s Lyle Thompson (1G, 5A) passed to Jordan Hall (3A), who fed it to Jordan MacIntosh (1G, 2A) and his shot beat Hartley over the shoulder increasing the lead to four. The shots at the end of the first quarter favored Georgia 19—Rochester 7. Score at the end of one: Swarm 5—Knighthawks 1.
Rochester would open up the second quarter less than a minute in when Curtis Knight (2G) from the top fired a hard high to low shot that beat Poulin five hole cutting the Swarm lead to three 5 – 2. Later in the quarter Thompson took a quick well placed shot from the top and beat Hartley over the glove to make it 6 – 2. Thompson became the first NLL player to reach 30 points on the season with this goal. This completed the scoring in a defensive second quarter and the shots on goal at the end of first half still favored Georgia 34 and Rochester 20. Score at the end of two: Swarm 6—Rochester 2.
After almost a full 15 minutes of no scoring, Georgia broke through when Walker came across the top and on the run he beat Hartley with a side arm shot increasing the lead 7 – 2. Less than a minute later Rochester found the back of the net when Matt Gilray (2G) picked up a rebound off of the back boards and beat Poulin stick side making it 7 – 3 for Georgia. In transition, Ryland Rees, received a high pass from Dan Coates (2A) and beat Poulin with a bounce shot to the stick side cutting the lead to three at 7 – 4. Brad (Bubba) Voigt(1G) who was just signed by the Swarm on Friday, would restore the Swarm’s four goal lead when he received a pass from Hall in front to beat Hartley low to the glove side for his first career NLL goal to make it 8 – 4. Eighteen seconds later the Swarm lit the lamp again when Travis Longboat (1G) beat Hartley with a high to low shot to the far side for his first goal in a Georgia uniform to increase their lead 9 – 4. The quarter would end with Rochester’s Ryan Smith (2G) on the power play firing a twister shot from the top beating Poulin to the stick side. Shots at the end of the third quarter still favored the Swarm 45 over the Knighthawks 36. Score at the end of three: Swarm 9—Knighthawks 5.
Just over a minute into the final frame Bomberry completed a nice pick and roll, received a feed from Thompson and beat Hartley far side with Georgia now leading 10 – 5. Rochester was able to get that one back when Smith faked low and beat Poulin over the shoulder on the power play cutting the lead to four. In transition, the Knighthawks Gilray, picked up a loose ball and went in all alone on Poulin and beat him under the arm to make it 10 – 7 for the Swarm. The run would continue for Rochester when Knight with a nifty swim move over his defender at the top, beat Poulin under the glove with a bounce shot cutting the lead to two 10 – 8. That would be as close as Rochester would get with five minutes left in the game. Georgia’s transition player, Cole soaked a shot from Rochester and fed a pass ahead to TJ Comizio (1G) and he went in all alone on Hartley and beat him glove side for his first career NLL goal extending the lead 11 – 8. Rochester pulled their goalie for a few possessions to try and get back into the game and with 20 seconds left on the ticker, Kason Tarbell (1G, 1A) picked up a loose ball at center, beat his defender and deposited into the empty net notching his first goal of the season. The final shots on goal were Georgia 57 and Rochester 49. Final Score: Swarm 12—Knighthawks 8.
The Three Stars of the game were:
Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm – 1G, 5A
Bryan Cole, Georgia Swarm – 1G, 2A
Holden Cattoni, Rochester Knighthawks – 3A
NEXT UP:
The Rochester Knighthawks (2-2) have a quick turnaround as they play on tonight Saturday January 22, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. against the Philadelphia Wings (3-2) at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Fans in the USA can catch the game tonight on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can watch the action on TSN.ca or the TSN app.
The Georgia Swarm (2-3) will host the Philadelphia Wings (3-2) on Saturday January 29, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. EST at Gas Arena in Georgia. Fans in the USA can catch the game on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can watch the action on TSN.ca or the TSN app.
Shawn Palmer, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©