DULUTH, GA (April 13, 2026) — The Georgia Swarm (10-6) rallied late, but came up just short against the San Diego Seals (7-9), dropping 9-7 at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Field at Gas South Arena on Sunday as the team prepares for the final stretch before the playoffs.
Kaleb Benedict (0G-5A) and Shayne Jackson (2G-3A) collected five points each in the loss, but proved to be crucial players in the fourth-quarter surge.
The Swarm were down 2-0 early in the first quarter after a strong start from the Seals. Nolan Byrne got Georgia on the board by driving to the net and squeezing it over the shoulder of Seals goalie Christopher Origlieri in a highlight reel-worthy play.
Going into the second, down 3-1, Georgia rebounded with Jeff Henrick and Shayne Jackson — on the power play — finding the back of the net in the quarter to keep the Swarm in it as the game progressed. That proved to be crucial for their late surge, but it wasn’t enough to overtake San Diego as they carried a 6-3 lead into halftime. Sensing the weight of the moment, Shayne Jackson started the scoring in the second half on the power play by finishing off a nice pass from Bryan Cole through the legs of Origlieri to cut the deficit to two. That seemed to lay the foundation for the late-quarter surge, but it also came with the Seals getting two back in the quarter to go up 8-5 heading to the fourth.
Lyle Thompson scored on the power play early in the final frame by putting it through the feet of Origlieri, this time getting a pass from Kaleb Benedict, to get the run going. Neither team was able to light the lamp down the stretch until Kaleb Benedict found Nolan Bryne on a cross-crease pass that left Bryne with a wide-open net to score his second of the game. The Seals got one back not long after and regained their three-goal lead briefly, but the Swarm did not take their foot off the gas pedal. Georgia kept pushing and eventually scored again, this time Nolan Byrne firing home his third of the night to complete the hat trick, with 12 seconds left in the game. Georgia came close, but that would be all the game wrote as the clock hit zero and finished off a close comeback effort.
Brett Dobson was outstanding again in the crease, stopping 44 shots and holding an opponent to less than 10 goals for the 13th time this season. On the opposite end, Christopher Origlieri made 33 saves for the Seals.
Georgia went 4-for-5 on the power play, edging out San Diego, who went 3-for-5 on the man advantage.
Lyle Thompson: recorded 16 points (4G-12A) in his past three games
Kaleb Benedict: has 14 points (2G-12A) over the last three games
Shayne Jackson: continues his stretch of dominance, has tallied his 20th point (6G-14A) in the last four games
Nolan Bryne: scored three goals and has eight points (7G-1A) in his past three games
The Swarm will head into the final pair of games next weekend against the Rochester Knighthawks (6-11), starting with the first of the back-to-back at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Field at Gas South Arena on Saturday and then in Rochester on Sunday to wrap up the regular season. Swarm is still searching for home-field advantage, but with a loss this weekend, the team dropped to 6th and the top 4 spots host a playoff game.
