Christopher Crane, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Greg Mason
The Georgia Swarm (10-5) used a dominant second-half surge to pull away from the Ottawa Black Bears (8-8), earning a convincing 12–7 victory in a game that was tightly contested early before turning decisively in Georgia’s favor. With the win they also came one step closer to locking in their spot for the 2025-26 Playoffs.
Ottawa struck first on the power play, as Jeff Teat (1g, 2a) opened the scoring at the 10:47 mark of the first quarter. Georgia responded quickly, also capitalizing with the extra man as Kaleb Benedict (1g, 3a) who has really upped his game this year with 36 points so far, evened the score. That goal sparked a strong closing run for the Swarm, who rattled off three unanswered goals—including tallies from Nolan Byrne (2g, 1a) and Bryan Cole (2g, 2a)—to take a 3–1 lead into the second quarter.
The Black Bears answered with urgency in the second, stringing together a three-goal run of their own. Rob Hellyer (3g, 3a), Larsen Sundown (1g, 1a), and Sam Firth (1g) all found the back of the net to give Ottawa its first lead of the game at 4–3 just 2:10 into the frame. Georgia countered to tie things up, but Ottawa continued to press, briefly reclaiming the advantage at 5–4. That momentum, however, was short-lived. Georgia closed the half on a strong note, getting goals from Jeff Henrick (1g) and Shane Jackson (2g, 1a) to take a 6–5 lead into the break.
From there, it was all Swarm.
Georgia took control in the third, exploding for five unanswered goals to break the game open. Byrne started the run with a power-play tally before Jackson and Lyle Thompson (2g, 4a) extended the lead. Late strikes from Seth Van Schepen (1g) and Jacob Hickey (1g) pushed the advantage to 11–5, leaving Ottawa with a steep deficit heading into the final quarter.
With little scoring in the final frame, Ottawa showed some fight down the stretch. Hellyer would tally back-to-back markers a little over two minutes in, but scoring slowed to a snail’s pace, with his next coming late and with 5:29 left in the contest—including a power-play marker to cut into the lead. But any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Thompson netted his second of the night late in the game to seal the 12–7 win for Georgia.
Despite a fairly even shot total (55–49 in favor of Georgia), the Swarm controlled key aspects of the game, including capitalizing on power-play opportunities (3-for-5) and weathering Ottawa’s dominance at the faceoff dot (18-of-23).
Balanced scoring and a decisive third-quarter run proved to be the difference, as Georgia turned a one-goal halftime edge into a comfortable victory.
STARS OF THE GAME:
Lyle Thompson –Georgia Swarm: 2g, 4a
Bryan Cole –Georgia Swarm: 2g, 2a
Rob Hellyer –Ottawa Black Bears: 3g, 3a
GAME STATS:
Georgia Swarm—SOG 55; Saves 42; Sv% .857; FO 5-23; PP 3-5; PIM 12
Ottawa Black Bears—SOG 49; Saves 43; Sv% .782; FO 18-23; PP 2-6; PIM 11
NEXT UP:
The Georgia Swarm (10-5) have a bye week and will be back in action when they host the San Diego Seals (6-8)*** at Gas South Arena on Sunday April 12, 2026, game time 4:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the game on ESPN+, while fans in Canada get to catch the action on TSN+. The game will also be televised on NLL+.
The Ottawa Black Bears (8-8) also have a bye week and will play host to the Toronto Rock (9-6)*** at Canadien Tire Centre on Friday April 10, 2026, game time 7:30 p.m. EST. This is the Friday Night on TSN game for fans in Canada so you can see the game on TSN+, TSN1 & TSN5. Fans in the USA can see the action on ESPN+. The game will also be televised on NLL+.
Christopher Crane, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
***Record at time of the Article