Georgia Looks to Extend its Win Streak to Five and Move to Third in the Playoff Race

DULUTH, Ga. (March 31, 2022) – The red-hot Georgia Swarm (8-6), winners of four-straight games, and the Toronto Rock (8-5) close out their home and home two-week stretch against one another tonight in Gas South Arena. The Swarm and Rock faced off against one another for the first time in nearly three years last Saturday, March 26, with Georgia securing a 10-6 win over Toronto.

After the win over the Rock last week, the Swarm still hold the East Division fourth seed in the playoff race. They are a half a game behind Toronto, who sit in third place. If the Swarm were to sweep the series over the Rock, Georgia would move to the third seed. If the Rochester Knighthawks (3-10) defeat the second seeded Halifax Thunderbirds (8-5) on Friday, April 1, Georgia would move to the East Division second seed, putting them in position to host a first-round playoff game in May.

Georgia saw eight different teammates put up goals and 11 players record points during last week’s win over Toronto. The entire team stepped up to bring home the win as the NLL’s leading goal scorer, Lyle Thompson, was placed on the Injured Reserve List the morning of the game.

With Thompson out, Brendan Bomberry provided some scoring punch, netting his third hat trick in the last six games. Reigning NLL MVP Shayne Jackson dished out four assists and landed one goal between the pipes, leading the team in points. Goaltender Mike Poulin bolstered an all-around smothering defensive effort, recording a season best 43 saves in net.

Toronto’s Tom Schreiber leads his team in goals (34) while ranking third across the NLL. Teammate Rob Hellyer sits first among the Rock in points (59) and assists (41) while ranking 19th in league points.

Entering this week’s matchup, the Swarm are now the second-highest scoring offense in the league netting 165 goals (11.79 per game). Despite not playing in last weekend’s matchup, 2021-22 NLL MVP Candidate Lyle Thompson still tops the NLL in goals (39) and ranks top-five in points (4th; 80). After adding five more points to his statline last week, Jackson now ranks 13th in the NLL with 66.

Toronto posts a .500 record (3-3) on the road while the Swarm hold a .667 (4-2) win percentage at Gas South Arena. Despite having the league’s best power-play record at home, the Rock sit 11th in road power-play record with a 40.9 percent (9-for-22) conversion rate. Overall, Toronto is 26-for-53 (49.1 percent) on man-up opportunities placing them fifth in the NLL. Georgia ranks second at home and overall in penalty killing record. At Gas South Arena, the Swarm have stopped 14-of-21 (66.7 percent) man-up opportunities while defusing 36-of-55 power-plays throughout the entire season.

After the Swarm host the Rock, Georgia goes on a bye week, then take the field next on April 16 at Gas South Arena against the Buffalo Bandits for Fan Appreciation Night. The evening also feature the fan-favorite Diamond Drop, where one lucky winner will go home with an $8,000 diamond halo pendant, courtesy of Tara Fine Jewelry. The Swarm then play their last road game of the regular season on April 23 against league newcomer, Panther City Lacrosse Club in Fort Worth, Texas for the ESPN Game of the Week. Georgia closes out the regular season at home against the Philadelphia Wings (6-7) on April 30.

Milestones:

Bryan Cole: Is 11 points away from the 100th of his career.

Shayne Jackson: Needs 14 loose ball recoveries to reach 600 in his career.

Jordan MacIntosh: Needs 13 faceoff wins to pass Stephen Hoar for 6th place in league history with 1,651.

Lyle Thompson: Needs to play in three more games to reach the 100th of his career.

Lyle Thompson: Needs 12 loose ball recoveries to reach 600 in his career.

Last Time We Faced Toronto (March 26, 2022):

• The Georgia Swarm won its fourth-straight game, defeating the Toronto Rock 10-6; Georgia outscored Toronto 4-1 in the first and fourth quarter
• The Rock took four more shots than the Swarm (49-45) and picked up 23 more loose balls (82-59)
• Brendan Bomberry led the Swarm in goals, netting his third hat trick in the last six games; Bomberry notched two goals in the first frame and a power-play goal in the second
• Shayne Jackson led the floor in points after giving out four assists and netting one goal; Jackson’s goal put the Swarm up 7-5 in the fourth, which started the team’s four-goal fourth quarter surge
• Mike Poulin saved a season high 43 shots, ending the game with an .877 save percentage
• Five defenders found the back of the net as Adam Wiedemann, Kason Tarbell, TJ Comizio, Jeff Henrick, and Bryan Cole recorded goals; Henrick opened the game with a transition goal for the second game in a row
• Toronto dominated the faceoff game as TD Ierlan won 15-of-20 (75.0 percent)
• Dan Dawson played in his 307th career game becoming the leader in NLL career games played; he gave out one assist tying John Tavares for the league’s all-time assist record at 934
• The Rock were successful on 2-of-3 (66.7 percent) man-up opportunities; Tom Schreiber and Zach Manns netted one power-play goal each
• Manns and Schreiber were the only Rock players with a multi-goal game; Manns led the way with three as Schreiber followed with two

Swarm Spotlight

• Georgia is the second highest scoring team in the league, netting 165 goals; the squad is third in the league in goals per game, averaging 11.79
• The Swarm is tied for first in the league for fourth quarter goals, totaling 51; the team has come back and won twice after trailing their opponents heading into the fourth frame
• Georgia has killed the second most power-plays in the league, stopping 36-of-55 (65.5 percent) opportunities; the backline holds a 66.7 percent killing record at home, defending 14-of-21 man-up chances
• After missing last weekend’s game, Lyle Thompson still tops the NLL in goals with 39; across the NLL Thompson ranks fourth in points (80), second in shots (147), and tied for first in shorthanded points (4)
• Shayne Jackson ranks 13th overall in NLL points with 66 (31G, 35A); Jackson ranks second in points, goals and assists among Swarm players
• TJ Comizio leads NLL rookies and ranks fourth overall in shooting percentage after sinking 4-of-10 shots (40.0 percent); Comizio ranks second in rookie caused turnovers, forcing 16
• Mike Poulin collected his seventh win of the season in net, tied for third in the league; Poulin is fifth in NLL saves, stopping 462 shots this season
• Ethan Walker remains in the top-10 in NLL rookie points with 30; Walker also ranks fifth in rookie assists after dishing out 22
• Connor Kirst tallies 71 faceoff wins this season, placing him second among NLL rookies; Kirst posts a 38.6 faceoff win percentage
• Bryan Cole continues to rank top-five in NLL defenseman points with 24; among league defenders Cole ranks fourth in goals (10), fifth in assists (14), second in power-play goals (2), and fifth in power-play points (3)

Eyes on the Rock

• Toronto is looking for redemption after their two-game win streak was extinguished by the Swarm last week
• The Rock’s offense has totaled 144 goals this season averaging 11.08 goals per game, ranking seventh in the league; they have the third strongest backline after holding foes to 127 goals (9.77 per game)
• Even though Toronto is the best man-up offense at home, they rank 11th in road power-play record (9-for-22; 40.9 percent) and fifth overall (26-for-53; 49.1 percent)
• The offense is led by Tom Schreiber’s 34 goals which also places him third in the NLL; Schreiber ranks second across the league in power-play goals (10)
• Rob Hellyer leads Toronto in points (59) and assists (41); Hellyer ranks 19th overall in league points and fourth in NLL shots on goal (108)
• Starting netminder Nick Rose ranks second in league wins (8) and fifth in minutes played (714:23) while posting a .786 save percentage and a 9.57 goals against average
• TD Ierlan ranks fifth across the league and first among NLL rookies in faceoff wins, collecting 165 this season; Ierlan posts a 60.2 faceoff win percentage
• Among NLL defenders Challen Rogers ranks fourth in points (30), third in goals (12), fourth in assists (18) while ranking second in power-play assists (4) and power-play points (5)
• Brad Kri ranks second among NLL defenseman in caused turnovers after forcing 32

Where To Watch

• Peachtree TV – The Swarm vs. Rock game will be broadcasted live on Peachtree TV in the Atlanta Metro Area at 7:30 PM ET
• ESPN+ – Use your ESPN+ account (or create a new one) to watch the game live Friday, April 1, 2022, at 7:30 PM ET and all season long
• Watch live in person at six Gwinnett County Taco Mac locations: Buford, Cumming, Duluth, Johns Creek, Lawrenceville & Suwanee

About the Georgia Swarm

The Georgia Swarm continue the 2021-22 season at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort Field at Gas South Arena. The full schedule is available at GeorgiaSwarm.com/Schedule. Watch the fastest game on two feet for just $10 a seat by heading to GeorgiaSwarm.Com/Tickets or by calling 844-4-GASWARM. Many other membership options, fan experiences, and group ticket options are available at GeorgiaSwarm.com. For additional information, follow the Swarm on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok: @GeorgiaSwarmLAX.

About the National Lacrosse League

The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America’s premier professional lacrosse league. Founded in 1986, the NLL ranks third in average attendance for pro indoor sports worldwide, behind only the NHL and NBA. The League is comprised of 15 franchises across the United States and Canada: Albany FireWolves, Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Georgia Swarm, Halifax Thunderbirds, Las Vegas NLL, New York Riptide, Panther City Lacrosse Club (TX), Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, San Diego Seals, Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock, and Vancouver Warriors.

For more information, visit NLL.com and find @NLL on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.