Swarm Smother Black Bears in Dominant Second-Half Surge
NLL Georgia Swarm

Swarm Smother Black Bears in Dominant Second-Half Surge

Published on March 30, 2026 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Georgia Swarm News Release


OTTAWA, ON - The Georgia Swarm (10-5) surged past the Ottawa Black Bears (8-8) 12-7 at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday night for their second straight win.

Lyle Thompson led the Swarm with six points (2G-4A), and Nolan Byrne, Shayne Jackson and Bryan Cole all recorded a pair of goals in the win.

Getting to the action, the Swarm found themselves down 1-0 after Ottawa opened the scoring on the power play. However, Kaleb Benedict answered back on the man advantage four minutes later. Benedict snuck behind the defence and was wide open at the back door to catch a quick pass and bury the first of the game for Georgia. Building momentum, Nolan Byrne followed not long after on the same power play and sniped one over the right shoulder of Zach Higgins from an outside shot to give the Swarm a 2-1 lead. Bryan Cole added one late in the quarter with 23 seconds to go, sending Georgia into the first break feeling good.

That momentum quickly shifted early in the second quarter. Ottawa came out blazing with three goals to begin the quarter, regaining the lead 4-3 just under three minutes into the frame. In response, the Swarm needed a spark to get things going again, and that call was answered by Bryan Cole, who stopped the Black Bears' run and tied it.

Ottawa added another goal in the frame to take a slim one-goal lead, but from that point on, it was all Georgia. Jeff Henrick fired one through the legs of Higgins on a three-on-two in transition with two minutes and fifty-five to go in the half, tying the game again. This goal marked the beginning of a dominating 7-0 run for the Swarm that lasted all the way through to the end of the third quarter.

Up 11-5, Georgia was in firm control going to the final quarter. Nonetheless, the Swarm were coming off a 17-16 win against Halifax, during which they also held a sizeable lead going into the last quarter. However, the story would be different this time around.

Georgia locked down the Ottawa offence and only allowed two goals down the stretch before Lyle Thompson iced it with a minute and forty-four to go to put the finishing touch on a crucial win for the Swarm.

Brett Dobson stopped 42 of 49 shots in the win for the Swarm, while Ottawa's Zach Higgins recorded 43 saves on 55 shots.

Georgia went 3-for-5 on the power play, while Ottawa went 2-for-6 on the night.

Lyle Thompson: recorded 13 points (3G-10A) in his past two games

Kaleb Benedict: has nine points (2G-7A) over the last three games

Shayne Jackson: stays hot and tallied his 15th point (4G-11A) in the last three games

Bryan Cole: posted four points (2G-2A) in the win

The Swarm remain third in the standings with the win and are heating up once again as the regular season winds down.

With the win, Georgia will return home to Gas South Arena to face the San Diego Seals on Sunday, April 12, at 4:00 PM ET in search of clinching a playoff spot.

Check out the Georgia Swarm Statistics

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National Lacrosse League Stories from March 30, 2026


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