Hellyer Pots Hat Trick; Black Bears Fall to Swarm at Home
NLL Ottawa Black Bears

Hellyer Pots Hat Trick; Black Bears Fall to Swarm at Home

Published on March 29, 2026 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Ottawa Black Bears News Release


The Ottawa Black Bears suffered their third straight loss on Saturday night, returning to the Canadian Tire Centre for the first time in a month. The Black Bears held a 5-4 lead late in the second quarter over the Swarm, who rallied with six goals in a row, improving to 10-5 on the season with the win.

For the Black Bears, it was a frustrating night at both ends of the floor. Goaltender Zach Higgins had another strong performance, keeping Ottawa in the game with a bevy of toe-saves, and finished with 43 saves on 55 shots (.782 save percentage).

In the opposite net, Brett Dobson was one step ahead of the Black Bears most of the evening, saving 42 of 49 shots.

"Yeah, he's good, but there's levels that you have to raise your game to at this time of the year," said Rob Hellyer after the game. Hellyer finished with three goals and a game-high six points, recording his fifth hat trick of the season.

"It's playoff lacrosse, and we didn't play anything like that. We have to find that next gear that the good teams find at this time of the year, and we've got to do it in a hurry. Toronto's good, coming in here, so we have to at least get one of the next two, if not both of them, we have to figure it out."

Jeff Teat scored a goal and two assists, Larson Sundown had a goal and an assist, Sam Firth a goal, Callum Jones two assists, and Connor Kearnan and Kevin Brownell each picked up an assist. Trade deadline acquisition Phil Caputo scored his first goal in front of a home crowd, and also added an assist in the loss, which marked the lowest scoring game of the year for the Black Bears.

"Full credit to Georgia, they played a fast, high-pressured game against us, and we could not match their speed and keep up with them," said head coach Dan MacRae after the game.

"And that was the story of the game, we couldn't get out of third gear, we were just making some flat-footed passes, not just on the offence, but defensively, breaking out of our zone as well, and then dug a big hole and couldn't get out of it."

With two games remaining on the season following a bye week, the Black Bears are looking to win nine games for the first time in franchise history. MacRae stressed that unlike previous seasons, their playoff destiny is still in their hands.

"We still have two hands on the steering wheel, we're still controlling our destiny here, so to speak, right, two games left, we've eight wins, we've got a week off, which is great. We have some bumps and bruises, so we're not going to practice until Saturday, and then we're going to get ready for Toronto.

"That was the message [in the dressing room], we need to let this one hurt. This one stung, what I said against Vancouver, is we played an excellent, excellent game, it was just one goal and we didn't come away with it, and we deserved better.

"This one, we've got to work for it in a hurry, get up to speed and adapt. But the positive thing is we can still end the year with 10 wins on the season, which should get us in. Nine, it leaves it up to chance. Last year, I know that this group needed to have a lot happen for them, with another team to win or to lose... we're still not in that situation, which is great, so we've just got to look in the mirror and see what we can do to control our season."

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National Lacrosse League Stories from March 29, 2026


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