DULUTH, GA (March 23, 2026) — The Georgia Swarm (9-5) defeated the Halifax Thunderbirds 17-16 (5-9) at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Field at Gas South Arena to get back in the win column on Friday night.
Georgia was looking for a victory entering the night to end the team’s two-game losing streak and regain the momentum they had on their six-game win streak ahead of the final push to the playoffs. Getting to the action, the Swarm did not have to wait long to get on the board. Nolan Byrne set the tone early with a crease dive from behind the net to bury the first goal of the game. Mike Triolo added to the lead shortly after, picking his spot through the legs of Warren Hill to make it 2-0 Swarm less than five minutes into the game.
Halifax got one back a minute later to stop the opening run, but it did not take long for Georgia to pick up steam again. The Swarm responded with a run of five unanswered goals through the remainder of the first quarter, started by Nolan Byrne — who picked up his third of the night during the run — and finished by Lyle Thompson with five seconds on the clock to make it 7-1.
The second quarter started with more of the same from Georgia. The Swarm smothered the Thunderbirds and combined for three goals in the first five minutes to increase their lead to 10-1. The Swarm kept their foot on the gas and, despite three Thunderbirds goals, were leading 11-4. It was clear Georgia was firing on all cylinders — and found their scoring touch that was missing from the past two games — as Halifax found themselves down big at the half.
Georgia continued to pour on the offense in the third and added three goals out of the break and one more in the final second of the quarter to take their 15-6 lead into the fourth quarter. However, it was anything but smooth sailing in the final frame.
Halifax came storming back with 10 goals in the quarter to tie it at 16 apiece with a minute to go. But the Swarm managed to hang on in the final seconds and score the game-winner with 18 seconds, thanks to Jordan MacIntosh sniping it into the top corner on a two-on-one to seal the win in the last 30 seconds of the game.
Brett Dobson stopped 41 of 51 shots for Georgia in the win, while Devlin Shanahan stopped three of the nine shots he faced in relief of Dobson. Warren Hill recorded 26 saves on 38 shots, and Drew Hutchinson also tallied eight saves on 12 shots.
Georgia went an impressive 4-for-5 on the power play, while Halifax went 1-for-4.
Ed Comeau: wins his 150th career NLL game as a head coach
Lyle Thompson: recorded seven points (1G-6A) and now has 11 points (4G-7A) in his last three games
Shayne Jackson: scored nine points (2G-7A) in the win and has 14 points (2G-12A) in his past three games
With the win, the Swarm will head to Ottawa for a matchup against the Black Bears on Saturday, March 28, at 7:00 PM ET. The Georgia Swarm currently sits in 4th place, just ahead of the Toronto Rock. Three out of the eight teams have already clinched a playoff spot. Swarm will need a win this weekend to clinch a spot. With the Swarm sitting at 4th with four games left in the regular season, they would host a playoff game at Gas South Arena, Duluth, GA.
