Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The Ottawa Black Bears (3-2) visited Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia to play the Georgia Swarm (4-2) Friday night. With a winter storm swirling ice and snow outside, there was plenty of heat generated inside the building. Home crowd favorite Lyle Thompson (5G, 3A) scorched the Ottawa defense for eight points, but Black Bears’ forward Jeff Teat (3G, 5A) matched the veteran star and paired with big nights from Jacob Dunbar (3G, 2A) and Larson Sundown (3G, 3A), the Black Bears were able to pull away late and steal a road victory. For the majority of the first half, the Swarm were able to hold a slim lead thanks to scoring the game’s first three goals. Ottawa never fell behind more than that three, and after taking a 9-8 lead with 5:43 left in the third quarter, they never gave it back. Final Score: Ottawa-14, Georgia-10.
Thompson immediately proved that despite the weather outside, he was present and ready for work. 1:27 into the game, after grabbing a deflected shot in the back corner, he launched from behind the crease and dunked the ball off Ottawa goaltender Zach Higgins (10GA, 41SV). The initial call on the floor was no goal, but after an Ottawa possession, Georgia’s challenge overturned it for the game’s opening score. 34 seconds later he became Air Bud again, jumping what had to be three feet in the air in transition to score his second goal in a row. To really twist the dagger early, Joey Cupido (1G, 1A) stole a Jay Thorimbert pass off the ensuing faceoff win and scored unassisted just 12 seconds later. Just 3:03 into the game, Georgia led Ottawa 3-0. It was Sundown who finally broke through for the Black Bears. With 8:12 remaining, he quickly released the shot after the assist from Kiel Matisz (1G, 3A). Just under two minutes later though, Bryan Cole (3G) returned the home lead to three. Fighting for some momentum, Ottawa found it in the last three minutes. Matisz scored with 2:59 left, and Taggart Clark (2G, 2A) scored the final goal of the quarter with 1:52 remaining. At the end of the first quarter, Georgia led Ottawa 4-3.
The momentum continued to start the second quarter. Connor Kearnan (2G, 2A) beat Georgia netminder Brett Dobson (14GA, 33SV) in transition right out of the bench to tie the game just 23 seconds in. Dunbar scored his first of the game next on a power play opportunity just under two minutes later, giving Ottawa their first lead of the night. Thompson scored his hat trick goal with 8:01 remaining in the half to tie the game once more, but Teat found the back of the net with just 47 seconds left to restore the Ottawa lead into the half. At halftime, Ottawa led Georgia 5-4.
After a low scoring four-goal second quarter, both teams combined for eight goals in the third quarter. Dobson almost saved a close shot from Teat early in the frame, but the ball trickled in for his second of the game 1:28 in. Thompson answered just over a minute later for his fourth of the game, but Sundown restored the two-goal lead with 11:42 left. The Swarm finally strung two goals together, the first from Cole and the second from Thompson, his fifth of the evening, and tied the game 8-8 with 10:06 remaining. Ottawa took a deep breath and clamped down on defense, halting the Swarm momentum and allowing the offense to keep on a roll. Dunbar restored the lead with 5:43 left, Sundown increased it to two with 4:23 remaining, and Dunbar scored again with eight seconds left, sending us to the fourth quarter with Ottawa leading Georgia 11-8.
Having five goals in the first three quarters, Thompson was smothered by the Ottawa defense in the fourth and held without a goal or assist. Shayne Jackson (1G) restored some hope for the home team, scoring first in the final quarter 1:28 in, but Ottawa was patient and neither team scored again until Clark restored the three-goal lead with 6:59 left. Kearnan extended it further notching his second goal of the game with 4:59 left. Cole did score one for the home team with 3:33 remaining, but Teat answered 18 seconds later with the final goal. Final Score: Ottawa-14, Georgia-10.
Up Next:
The Ottawa Black Bears (3-2) host the Vancouver Warriors (3-1) on Friday, January 17 at 7:00 PM EST.
The Georgia Swarm (4-2) travel to play the Calgary Roughnecks (2-1) on Saturday, January 18 at 9:00 PM EST.