DULUTH, Ga. (December 9, 2021) – The Georgia Swarm (0-1) look to bounce back this Sunday, Dec. 12 after falling 16-11 in its season opener against the Colorado Mammoth. The Swarm face the New York Riptide (0-1) on Sunday (12/12/21), at 3:00 PM in the Nassau Live Center on Long Island, N.Y.
Georgia has played New York three times since the Riptide’s inaugural 2019-20 season. The Swarm lead the all-time series 2-1 and have won the last two contests. The Riptide’s lone win over the Swarm marked New York’s first win in franchise history.
Even though the Swarm fell short against the Mammoth last week, it was a historical night as Shayne Jackson eclipsed his 600th career point and netted a hat trick. Tanner Buck scoring his first professional goal, Connor Kirst recording his first NLL assist and Vaughn Harris netting his first Georgia Swarm goal were other notable marks that happened throughout the night.
In game one, Georgia struggled capitalizing on power plays as they converted one-of-seven opportunities into goals while defensively, the squad gave up two short-handed goals. The Riptide scored two goals on power plays as they had three-man up opportunities against the Rochester Knighthawks on Dec 4. New York’s Scott Dominey netted one shorthanded goal which knotted the match at eight apiece.
Goaltender Mike Poulin made 27 saves against the Mammoth ending the night with a .659 save percentage while Gowah Abrams, the Riptide’s starting goalie, ended game one with a .740 save percentage stopping 37 Knighthawks shots.
The wealth was spread on offense against Colorado as Jackson, Brendan Bomberry, Jordan Hall, and Lyle Thompson recorded four points each and ten total Swarm players tallied points. Jackson scored three goals and gave out one assist as Bomberry, Hall, and Thompson all netted one shot and assisted three goals.
In New York’s season opener against the Rochester Knighthawks, the Riptide’s defense caused 14 turnovers with Matt Marinier leading the way with six. The Swarm caused six turnovers against the Mammoth but picked up 55 loose balls allowing them to have more second chance opportunities than Colorado.
A new threat the Swarm’s defense will see this week is NLL Rookie of the Week, Jeff Teat, who registered seven points in his first NLL game. Teat scored three goals and assisted four times while picking up eight loose balls and causing one turnover.
New York faces the Philadelphia Wings on Friday, December 10 before inviting the Swarm to Long Island, N.Y. on Sunday, Dec. 12.
New York is the first stop on Georgia’s four-game away stretch. The Georgia Swarm takes a holiday respite before continuing its road campaign on January 8, 2022, when they take on the Philadelphia Wings in the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. This marks the second of four stops the Swarm make on its four-game road journey. The squad then faces the Buffalo Bandits (Jan. 15) and the Rochester Knighthawks (Jan. 21) before returning to Harrah’s Cherokee Resort and Casino Field at Gas South Arena on Jan. 29 in another showdown against the Wings.
- Georgia came out on top winning 11-7 at Nassau Live Center; this was the last win the squad recorded before the 2019-20 season was canceled due to COVID-19
- Shots on goal were in the Swarm’s favor 55-50 as were the loose balls (89-79)
- The Swarm totaled 31 points tallying 20 assists on 11 goals
- The Swarm were successful on one-of-five power plays; Lyle Thompson scored the lone man-up goal of the night in the fourth quarter
- Lyle Thompson ended the night with seven points (2g, 5a) which was the most recorded by any player on the floor; he also contributed 10 loose balls which was the most picked up by any player throughout the contest
- Poulin totaled 43 saves stopping a high of 13 Riptide shots in the fourth quarter
Milestones:
- Jackson achieved his 600th career point in the first game of the season against the Colorado Mammoth
- Jordan MacIntosh is 29 faceoff wins away from ranking sixth all-time in NLL faceoff wins
- Poulin is six wins away from his 100th career win making him the fourth NLL goalie all-time to do so
- Thompson is eleven goals away from his 200th career goal
Where To Watch:
- Peachtree TV in Atlanta Metro Area – watch the game live on Sunday, December 12 at 3PM ET
- ESPN+ – Use your ESPN+ account (or create a new one) to watch the game live Sunday, December 12 at 3PM ET and all season long
- Watch in person at six Gwinnett County Taco Mac locations: Buford, Cumming, Duluth, Johns Creek, Lawrenceville & Suwanee
