Thunderbirds, Swarm Ready for Country Night Showdown in the Nest
NLL Halifax Thunderbirds

Thunderbirds, Swarm Ready for Country Night Showdown in the Nest

Published on January 31, 2026 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Halifax Thunderbirds News Release


The Halifax Thunderbirds are looking to get back in the win column when they face off with the Georgia Swarm at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night. Face-off is set for 7:00 p.m. AT.

Head to Head

In six matchups against the Swarm all-time, the Thunderbirds sit with a 2-4 record, and a 1-2 record at Scotiabank Centre. The team has dropped their last two showdowns with Georgia by one goal - last year's game on the road ended in overtime.

Clarke Petterson leads all Thunderbirds scorers against the Swarm, scoring 23 goals and 59 points across six career outings. Cody Jamieson has 46 points over the same span, while Randy Staats has 10 goals and 33 points in four games against his former squad.

This will be the first of two games between these teams this season. The second matchup will go on Mar 20, when the Thunderbirds head to Gas South Arena

Scouting the Thunderbirds

Following a bye, the Thunderbirds will be aiming to get back on track after posting their lowest goal total of the season against Colorado on Jan 16.

The team will have a new look to it, as a bye-week trade went down, with the team sending Dawson Theede to Oshawa for a future first. It'll be next-man-up for Halifax the rest of the year, and with some young talent on the roster, the increased chance will give someone extra opportunities.

Cody Jamieson (12G, 5A) still leads the lefties in scoring for the year, while the likes of Jason Knox (2G, 5A), Mike Robinson (2G, 3A), and Will MacLeod (4G, 2A) have all been in and out of the lineup in the early goings. Those four will now be tasked with helping Halifax turn its fortunes around

Randy Staats (9G, 22A) and Clarke Petterson (13G, 17A) sit as the top two scorers on the roster through seven contests.

The team added some more depth last week, bringing Stephen Keogh back to The Nest. The veteran is a longtime member of the organization who last played in 2024, where he had 20 goals with the New York Riptide. Keogh brings physicality and veteran presence to the locker room and could see game action soon.

Warren Hill has been pulled in his last two starts, but the Halifax starter still owns a 3-2 record with a 9.50 goals-against average and an .828 save percentage this year. He'll look to get back on track after the bye week.

Scouting the Swarm

While the Swarm are one of the youngest teams in the National Lacrosse League, they find themselves with a positive record and a plus-15 goal differential near the halfway point of the year.

The veteran trio of Shayne Jackson (15G, 12A), Lyle Thompson (9G, 17A), and Bryan Cole (5G, 18A) lead this team, while Georgia also has some strong young talent in 2025 top-10 selection Nolan Byrne (8G, 10A), Kaleb Benedict (7G, 8A), Kean Moon (2G, 6A), and Toron Eccleston (4G, 1A).

Swarm captain Jordan MacIntosh continues to be a strong transition threat, sitting with five goals and nine points through the first seven games of his 14th year in the NLL. Jacob Hickey and rookie Michael Grace each have seven points in as many games in transition.

Brett Dobson is playing the best lacrosse of his career in the cage with Georgia, currently on pace to be a Goalie of the Year finalist. He has a 4-3 record on the season to go along with a 6.89 GAA and an .867 SV%.

Milestone Watch

Cody Jamieson needs six assists to become the 12th player in NLL History to reach 650 for a career

Stephen Keogh needs three goals to reach 250 for his career...Needs 11 points to reach 500 for his career...Needs five loose balls to reach 600 for his career

Jason Knox needs four points to reach 100 for his career

Ryan Terefenko needs three points to reach 100 for his career

Brendan Bomberry needs 10 goals to reach 100 for his career

Jake Withers needs eight points to reach 100 for his career

Tyson Bell needs 12 points to reach 100 for his career

Broadcast Information

Thunderbirds fans can tune into Saturday's action on TSN+ and NLL+ in Canada, and on ESPN+ in the United States.

Check out the Halifax Thunderbirds Statistics

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National Lacrosse League Stories from January 31, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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