HALIFAX, NS (January 31, 2026) — The Georgia Swarm (5-3) used a five-goal second quarter to push past the Halifax Thunderbirds (3-5) 11-7 on Saturday night at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax for the Swarm’s third consecutive win.
Shayne Jackson (3G-2A) and Nolan Byrne (4G-0A) brought their scoring touches tonight as the pair each recorded hat-tricks in the win, while Bryan Cole (1G-4) added a team-high four helpers on the night to extend the win streak.
Heading to the first quarter, it was a slow start for both teams as the goalies stole the show early. Halifax’s Warren Hill and Georgia’s Brett Dobson shut the door for the first four minutes of the game until Bryan Cole opened the scoring off a pass from Kaleb Benedict on a cut to the middle of the floor, finding an opening between the legs of Hill to give the Swarm a 1-0 lead.
Halifax’s Jason Knox quickly answered back, though on the power play, as he faked a pass from the right corner of the crease and hit the far corner over the top of Dobson to tie it with 8:55 left in the quarter. Georgia got a man advantage opportunity of their own not long after, but were unable to find the back of the net despite some strong scoring chances.
Neither team scored again until the late stages of the frame, when Halifax’s Clarke Petterson picked his spot through the legs of Dobson to take their first lead of the night.
But the Swarm battled back and tied the game before the quarter ended, thanks to Jordan MacIntosh picking up a loose ball in transition and feeding his partner on the two-on-one, Michael Grace, who picked the opening through the legs of Hill to tie the game 2-2 after 15 minutes of play.
Both teams came out firing in the second quarter, and it did not take long for Halifax’s early momentum to result in a goal. The Thunderbirds opened the scoring under 90 seconds into the quarter off a shot from Nonkon Thompson, which was ruled a goal after video review. But then it was all Georgia as the Swarm found their game and never looked back.
Georgia got on the board just 17 seconds after the Halifax goal, with Brett Dobson firing a pass from his crease to Nolan Byrne all alone behind the Thunderbirds’ restraining line and finishing it off with a shot past the right leg of Hill.
That was only the beginning though, as the Swarm scored two more unanswered goals within the next three minutes, starting with MacIntosh intercepting a pass on the penalty kill and turning it into a two-on-one finished off by Shayne Jackson for his team-leading 17th goal on the year and Nolan Byrne all alone in f
ront of Hill and diving through the crease to put a shot past the goalie in the lower right corner for the Swarm to gain a 5-3 lead.
Georgia was in complete control for the majority of the quarter and continued to hammer away shots at Hill until Halifax snapped Georgia’s three-goal run with eight minutes left in the half to get one back.
However, the Swarm responded again with a pair of goals in the span of 30 seconds, courtesy of Lyle Thompson and Shayne Jackson for his second of the night, to restore a 7-4 Georgia lead heading into the final moments of the half.
Halifax did not go into the break quietly, though. The Thunderbirds scored twice in the final three minutes and cut the Swarm’s lead to just one heading into the third quarter. And out of the break, the game took on a much different pace, with both teams’ defenses tightening up.
Neither team got on the board as Dobson and Hill went toe-to-toe in a goaltending duel until the final three seconds of the frame, when Shayne Jackson netted his third of the night on a quick shot from the right of the crease on the power play to put the Swarm up 8-6 going to the final frame.
Halifax started the quarter off with a quick goal 54 seconds in, but that would be all the Thunderbirds could muster in their comeback effort. Nolan Byrne netted his third goal of the night less than three minutes later, and Jordan MacIntosh followed that halfway through the quarter before Byrne scored again with two minutes and thirty seconds left to ice the game for the Swarm.
Brett Dobson continued his dominant stretch on the road trip and recorded his second consecutive game with 40-plus saves, stopping 40 shots from the Thunderbirds tonight. Across the floor, Warren Hill made 36 saves on 47 shots for Halifax.
Both Georgia and Halifax went 1-for-3 on the man advantage. The Swarm struggled in the face-off circle, going 2-for-21, but it ultimately did not play a factor in the win.
Brett Dobson: recorded 119 saves across three games on the road trip.
Mike Triolo: Georgia’s newest signing made his presence known, tallying five blocks and three loose-ball recoveries in his first game as a member of the Swarm.
Nolan Byrne: The eighth overall pick in the 2025 draft had himself a road trip, totaling 11 points (6G-5A) across three games.
Lyle Thompson: 17 points (7G-10A) on the road trip for the 10-year veteran.
Bryan Cole: started road trip with eight points in Edmonton and finished the trip with 17 points (4G-13A).
Shayne Jackson: recorded 15 points (8G-6A) in the past three games.
The Swarm will return home looking to extend their win streak to four as they take on the Las Vegas Desert Dogs on February 7 before heading back out on the road to Calgary on February 15 and Philadelphia on February 27.
