DULUTH, GA (April 26, 2026) — The Georgia Swarm defeated the three-time defending champion Buffalo Bandits 17-10 Saturday night at Gas South Arena to advance to the semi-finals against Halifax.
Lyle Thompson led the way with 10 points on the night, followed by five other Swarm players who recorded more than five points in the win.
Getting to the action, Georgia came out with a vengeance from the opening faceoff, and it showed when Lyle Thompson opened the scoring 40 seconds in to give Georgia a quick 1-0 lead. The Swarm kept up with the Bandits throughout the first quarter, and it quickly became clear that Georgia was going to be a tough out for the defending champions.
Buffalo struck home their first of the night with eight minutes to go in the first to knot the score at one a piece, but that did not last. The Swarm rebounded immediately and got it back thanks to a long shot to the left of Matt Vinc that beat him over the left shoulder to regain their one-goal lead just a minute after the Bandits tied it up. But Benedict wasn’t finished quite yet. He picked up his second of the night with three minutes to go off a shot through the legs of Vinc to push Georgia’s lead to two near the end of the opening frame.
The Swarm upped their intensity again in the second quarter and opened with a goal two minutes in, thanks to Nolan Byrne beating Vinc from the restraining line to increase their lead again. Buffalo got one back not long after, but it was all Georgia from there. The Swarm exploded for four unanswered goals as Nolan Byrne and Shayne Jackson each tallied two to put the lead at 8-2 for Georgia just past the halfway mark of the quarter. With the game now firmly in their control, the Swarm stood tall and outlasted the Bandits’ response, as Buffalo netted three goals in the final minutes of the quarter and cut the lead to 9-5 at halftime.
Up by four heading to the final two quarters of the game with their playoff lives hanging in the balance, the job was far from over. There was still plenty of game left, and the Swarm rose to the occasion, outscoring the Bandits 3-1 in the third to keep their lead at a healthy 12-6. But the strong defensive third only set up a more thrilling finish in the fourth as both teams let loose on offence and came roaring back to life.
Lyle Thompson started the first of a three-goal run by Georgia to open the quarter, but Buffalo responded with two quickly after to slowly inch forward to mounting a comeback. But with the Swarm up 15-8 with under eight to go, it was looking bleak for the Bandits. Georgia kept their foot on the gas pedal and cruised to the finish line with Shayne Jackson and Richie Connell putting the final touches to the win and securing the Swarm’s spot in the next round.
Brett Dobson recorded 36 saves for Georgia and outduelled Matt Vinc, who stopped 34 for Buffalo.
Georgia went 3-for-4 on the power play, continuing their recent hot stretch on the man advantage, while Buffalo went 1-for-2.
Lyle Thompson: tallied 10 points (4G-6A) in the win to continue his hot stretch over the past five games.
Nolan Byrne: picked up six points (3G-3A) along with the hat trick.
Kean Moon: recorded six points (0G-6A) with an amazing six assists.
Shayne Jackson: put up a hat trick of his own as he picked up five points (3G-2A).
Kaleb Benedict: came close to a hat trick, but recorded six points in the victory (2G-4A).
With the win, Georgia advances to the semi-finals and will face the Halifax Thunderbirds in a best-of-three series. The first round will be played at Gas South Arena on Saturday, May 2nd at 7:30PM ET. Game two will take place in Halifax the following Saturday, May 9 at 7 PM ET. If there is a game three, the date will be announced as soon as we know.
