Georgia Swarm 17 – Buffalo Bandits 10

Lyle Thompson opened the scoring right away with a bang and a leap up on the end boards 40 seconds in. While scoring did not resume for the next 5 minutes of play before Dylan Robinson scored in transition to tie the game, this certainly set a tone that the Swarm did not see themselves as the underdogs in this quarterfinal matchup. Kaleb Benedict scored back-to-back goals in the latter half of the second quarter, first on his off side and then later taking advantage of a Buffalo transition turnover to extend the lead to 3-1 after the first.

A shot from deep from Nolan Byrne extended Georgia’s lead from deep 1:18 into the second. While Ian MacKay scored from midrange a minute later, a Bandit penalty led to a second goal from the Swarm’s rookie scorer after some sensational ball movement. The goals continued a minute at a time. After Buffalo got the ball back and had two shots turned aside from Brett Dobson, Shayne Jackson scored low-to-low from outside for his first goal of the game. A penalty to Mitch de Snoo after he kicked away the stick of Jordan MacIntosh put the Swarm back a man up and picked up the hat trick tally from Byrne. After a faceoff win, the Swarm went right back down the floor and got a quick stick goal from Jackson. With 8 minutes left in the second quarter, the Swarm had an 8-2 lead.

Clay Scanlan ended the run and put the Bandits back on the board, but Richie Connell got the goal back with 2:55 left in the half. Perhaps it was a moment of being too cute, but a misplayed loose ball by Brett Dobson led to Cam Wyers getting a nearly empty net to shoot at. While Dobson slid to make the initial save, Wyers was able to pick up the loose ball and dunk before Dobson could get back set. Paired with a transition goal from Mitch de Snoo with 33.2 seconds left, Buffalo’s defense cut the deficit to 4 before the half and served as a reminder that the game was far from over.

Just like in the first, Lyle Thompson opened the new half’s scoring at the end of a gritty 5 shot possession on their first touch. On the other side of the under 10 timeout, after the Bandits killed off a penalty for the first and only time on the night, Joe Resetarits swept a side arm shot for a goal to cut it back to 4. Unfortunately for them, it was the closest they would get the rest of the way. Right after the Swarm killed their first penalty of the game, Kason Tarbell fed Ben Trumble as he left the penalty box, and the rookie buried. In the final minute of the quarter, Kean Moon fed a diving Bryan Cole, who extended the lead to 12-6 after 3.

And the Swarm kept the foot on the gas as the game entered its final quarter. A Lyle Thompson dunk once again got Georgia an early quarter goal before Richie Connell picked up a second goal from outside. Two possessions later, Lyle scored his fourth of the game to extend the lead to 9. After a tripping call against the Swarm, Ian MacKay ended the run, and then two minutes later scored again to make it 15-8 with 8:15 left. A Bandit penalty led to another goal for Shayne Jackson with 5 minutes left, and then Connell scored in the dying seconds of a possession with 4:10 left to make it 17-8. After a faceoff violation brought the game into its final TV timeout, John Tavares called off the dogs, ending Evan Constantopoulos in to relieve Matt Vinc.

In the final minute, Kyle Buchanan and Josh Byrne each picked up their only goals of the game to cut the deficit from its game-high 9 back down to 7, but it was only a padding on the final reality setting in that for the first time since 2022, the Buffalo Bandits would not be winning a championship, and for the first time since 2018, they would not even make it to the finals.

The Swarm’s defense limited Buffalo’s offense to 46 shots on goal in the game, with Brett Dobson making 36 saves. Ian MacKay was the lone Bandit with more than 1 goal with 3 goals and 2 assists. Josh Byrne was the high point getter for Buffalo with a goal and 5 assists. Dhane Smith assisted on two goals but was held without a goal for only the 4th time in 37 career playoff games.

For Georgia’s offense, Lyle Thompson led the way as he’s done in all 10 of the team’s years in Duluth with 4 goals and 6 assists. Nolan Byrne (3G 3A), Kaleb Benedict (2G 4A), and Kean Moon (6A) each had six points, while Shayne Jackson and Richie Connell each had 3 goals and 2 assists.

Looking ahead, it’s the first time that the future is uncertain for Buffalo’s roster. Sure, Chase Fraser and Chris Cloutier moving in free agency last offseason was a change, but it will be the first time that the oldest vets aren’t just going to be assumed to be running it back. While, as of Memorial Day, there haven’t been any announcements made, the futures are still unclear. Matt Vinc made 34 saves on 51 shots faced in what could be his final game. Steve Priolo missed the game with injury; he later posted to Instagram that he had to have surgery on his retina. Paul Dawson blocked 2 shots and picked up a loose ball; he will be playing Senior B this summer. Whether that’s a send off for a shot at a Presidents Cup or to stay sharp for another crack at an NLL season next fall is unclear.

We’ll recap the rest of the playoffs in a separate post. Unchartered territory here having to write about NLL playoff games after the Bandits are eliminated.

(Photo Credit: National Lacrosse League)