Swarm lose in final seconds to New England

Jesse King (center) posted career-highs across the board in points (10), goals (4) and assists (6). Photo Credit: Khoi Ton

SCORING SUMMARY

Team
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Final

Georgia Swarm (4-5)
2
4
3
6
15

New England Black Wolves (5-2)
3
3
4
6
16

Official Box Score: Black Wolves 16, Swarm 15

NLL.COM

(Feb. 28 – Uncasville, Conn.) – The Georgia Swarm (4-5) lost in the final seconds to the New England Black Wolves (5-2) 16-15 Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. Black Wolves forward Kevin Crowley (3G, 3A) scored the game-winning goal with 4.0 seconds left during a six-on-five scoring opportunity.

Sunday’s contest was a back-and-forth affair and featured several lead changes in the second half after both teams entered halftime tied at six. Georgia’s leading scorer this season, Johnny Powless (3G, 3A) tied the game at 15 with 32 seconds left after the Swarm scored with an extra attacker on the floor. New England won the ensuing faceoff and moments later, Crowley slipped a shortside goal past Swarm goalie Brodie MacDonald to send Georgia home with a tough road loss.

Rookie forward Jesse King posted career-highs across the board as he led the Swarm in scoring with 10 points (4G, 6A). King’s fellow rookie teammate on the rightside, Randy Staats, posted three second half goals and finished the day with four points (3G, 1A).

Staats helped the Swarm build a 9-7 lead midway into the third quarter after he scored his first two goals of the game. The Black Wolves countered with a five-goal run however to jump back out front 12-9 early in the fourth quarter. The Swarm then caught fire in the final 11 minutes of play, as they scored four of the game’s next five goals to even the score at 13. King tied the game at 13, and then re-tied the game at 14 to help fuel the Swarm’s fourth quarter comeback.

The Black Wolves also had three players finish with hat tricks in forwards Shawn Evans (3G, 7A), Jordan Hall (3G, 6A) and Crowley. Goalie Evan Kirk collected the win for New England after stopping 49 of the Swarm's 64 shots on net.

Sunday's game featured a family connection as No. 1 overall pick Lyle Thompson (2G, 3A) and Miles Thompson (1G, 1A) played against their cousin, Black Wolves defenseman Bill O'Brien (4 LB's). The two teams will meet twice more in 2016: April 15 (at GA) and April 23 (at NE). New England currently holds a 2-0 series lead thus far.

Georgia has next weekend off before returning to play on the road on Saturday, March 12 against the defending-champion Saskatchewan Rush (5-3) for a 8:30 p.m. ET showdown. The Swarm starts a five-game homestand on Friday, March 18 that will run until Friday, April 15 at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Field at Infinite Energy Arena. For tickets, call 844-4-GASWARM or visit GeorgiaSwarm.com/SingleGameTickets

Photo Credit: Khoi Ton