DULUTH, Ga. (January 27, 2022) – The Georgia Swarm (2-3) invite the Philadelphia Wings (4-3) to Gas South Arena for the teams’ second matchup of the season against one another. Georgia looks for redemption for the 12-11 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Jan. 8.
Whichever team records the win on January 29 takes the lead in the all-time series, which is knotted at 3-3. The Swarm is 1-2 against the Wings at home, dropping the last contest in Gas South Arena on March 8, 2020, 12-11. In an odd twist of fate, the final score in the last three meetings between Georgia and Philadelphia has read 12-11 (Jan. 31, 2020: GA 12, PHI 11; March 8, 2020: PHI 12, GA 11; Jan. 8, 2022: PHI 12, GA 11).
After playing last week’s game against the Rochester Knighthawks with seven Swarm players on the COVID-19 protocol list, Georgia’s roster is now back at its full strength with the activation of 2020 NLL MVP F Shayne Jackson, F Tanner Buck, F Vaughn Harris, D Ethan Riggs, G Craig Wende, G Laine Hruska, and D Jeff Henrick.
Since the two teams last played each other, Lyle Thompson and Wings forward Kevin Crowley now rank second and first in league points, respectively. Thompson was the first NLL player to eclipse 30 points this season as he totals 32 after defeating the Knighthawks on Jan. 21. Crowley passed Thompson with 34 points on Jan. 22 after notching two goals and seven assists against the Knighthawks. Crowley and the Wings played a doubleheader during week eight and totaled five points against the Riptide. Crowley, enters the Swarm vs. Wings game with 39 points on the season.
When the Swarm fell to the Wings on Jan. 8, it was the start of a two-game slump for the team. Georgia ended its draught on Jan. 21 when they topped the Rochester Knighthawks, 12-8. The Swarm dominated the first quarter, outscoring the Knighthawks 5-1. Before Jan. 21, the Swarm had only scored seven total goals in the first frame throughout four games. They rode this momentum throughout the game to bring home a win and go into the rivalry match against Philadelphia with positive energy.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Wings played a double-header last week going 1-1 in Wells Fargo Center. The Wings started the weekend with a win defeating the Knighthawks 18-10 on Jan. 22. Philadelphia lost its groove and fell to the New York Riptide by one on Jan. 23 marking the team’s third loss of the season.
The last time the Swarm and Wings battled each other on Jan. 8, Thompson recorded his second-straight five-goal performance of the season. Thompson led the field in points, totaling eight while Jordan Hall was second for Georgia in points registering one goal and five assists. Another key player of the game was Brendan Bomberry, who sent the game into overtime netting the tying goal with .6 seconds left on the clock. Starting netminder Mike Poulin made 39 saves and ended the game with a .764 save percentage.
As Crowley leads his team in points (39), goals (12), and assists (27), Matt Rambo ranks second for Philadelphia in points (32) and assists (21). When the two teams played each other on Jan 8, Rambo totaled six points (3g, 3a) while Crowley totaled five (1g, 4a). Wings’ goalie Zach Higgins ranks second in the NLL and is 3-2 between the pipes totaling 223 saves, a .780 save percentage and 10.97 goals against average. Higgins was not in net when the Swarm and Wings faced off on Jan. 8, but Eric Penney suited up in between the pipes and saved 50 Georgia shots and had a .819 save percentage.
As Thompson sits atop the team standings in points (32), goals (14) and assists (18), Hall follows in points (21) and assists (16). Bomberry ranks third in points (17), goals (7) and assists (10) while averaging 3.4 points per game. Poulin earned his second win in net last week against Rochester and now totals 190 saves and a .772 save percentage on the season.
After playing four-straight contests on the road, the Swarm hosts three of the next four games at home. Following the Georgia Swarm vs. Philadelphia Wings game on Jan. 29, Georgia invites the Albany FireWolves to Harrah’s Cherokee Resort and Casino Field next Friday, Feb. 4 and the New York Riptide on Saturday, Feb. 12.
- Georgia pushed the game to overtime after Brendan Bomberry netted the tying goal with .6 seconds left in regulation; the Swarm fell to the Wings 12-11 on the first Philadelphia possession in overtime
- Lyle Thompson recorded his second-straight five goal performance of the season; gave out three assists, picked up four loose balls, and caused two turnovers
- Jordan Hall, who averages 4.2 points per game, totaled six points after giving out five assists and netting a goal of his own; this game marked Hall’s season-high in points
- Philadelphia took 13 shots in the second quarter, and all were stopped by goaltender Mike Poulin and the Swarm defense
- Georgia’s backline held Philadelphia scoreless on their lone power play opportunity; the Swarm offense went 0-for-2 on man-up situations
- Kason Tarbell led the field in caused turnovers, forcing four; Thompson and TJ Comizio were tied for second on the team, causing two each
- Thompson led the team in shots on goal, taking 16; Bomberry and Jordan MacIntosh ranked second launching, nine each
- Matt Rambo was the Wings leader in points totaling three goals and three assists; Kevin Crowley followed with five points (1g, 4a)
- Trevor Baptiste dominated in faceoffs winning 20-of-27; he leads the NLL in faceoff wins, totaling 126-of-186 (67.7)
- After pushing the game into overtime, the Swarm lost the opening faceoff which allowed the Wings to gain possession and dish the ball to Blaze Riorden, who clinched the game winning goal
Swarm Spotlight:
- Lyle Thompson ranks second in the league for points (32) and third in goals (14) while totaling 18 assists: Thompson posts two five-goal and two five-assist performances this season
- Brendan Bomberry (17), Jordan MacIntosh (13) and Bryan Cole (9) rank third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, on the defenseman leaderboard in points; Bomberry tops the standings in defenseman power-play goals (3) and points (5)
- Vaughn Harris and MacIntosh rank 13th and 14th in league faceoff wins, respectively; Harris totals 22 wins and a 45.8 faceoff win percentage while MacIntosh is 21-for-42 and posts a 50.0-win percentage
- Every Georgia field player besides Joel White and Adam Wiedemann have scored a goal this season; Kason Tarbell netted his first shot of the year last week in Rochester
- Ethan Walker ranked fifth among rookies in shots (29) and 10th in points (8)
- Mike Poulin totals 190 saves this season which is the second most out of all NLL goalies; he ranks third in minutes played clocking in 289:39
- Georgia has the third highest scoring offense in the Eastern Division (58) behind Philadelphia’s 85 and New York’s 59; sixth in the league averaging 11.60 goals per game
- Although the Swarm have are 8-of-24 in power-play opportunities, Georgia’s defense has killed 5-of-19 man-up situations
Milestones:
- Chad Tutton needs to cause six more turnovers to achieve his 100th career forced turnover
- Jordan MacIntosh needs 16 faceoff wins to pass Stephen Hoar for 4th place in league history with 1,651
- Mike Poulin is four wins away from his 100th career win making him he fourth NLL goalie to do so all time; Poulin is 152 saves away from his 6,000th career save
Where to Watch:
- Peachtree TV in Atlanta Metro Area – watch the game live on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 7PM ET
- ESPN+ – Use your ESPN+ account (or create a new one) to watch the game live Saturday, January 29, 2022 and all season long
- Watch in person at six Gwinnett County Taco Mac locations: Buford, Cumming, Duluth, Johns Creek, Lawrenceville & Suwanee
