The first game of the Week 14 slate was set to be a good one as the hometown Ottawa Black Bears welcomed in the Georgia Swarm for the first time ever. Georgia came into the game in good standing as far as the top eight was concerned, while Ottawa was right on the line and needed a win. These two clubs did battle back in January, and it was the Black Bears who came out victorious. Another round of Lyle vs Teat? Where do we sign?
Apart from the second quarter, Georgia completely dominated this game. They used quite a few multi-goal runs throughout the rest of the game and cruised to a 15-9 victory. Round two to Lyle and the Swarm.
“It’s shift by shift”, said Lyle Thompson before the game. “It’s starting the game off hard. We just want to come off to a hot start and focus on us.”
Coming out hot was exactly what Georgia did, except for the first two minutes of the game. Ottawa rattled off two-straight in 1:02, so kudos to Georgia for bouncing back. Those two Ottawa goals were scored by Connor Kearnan and Jacob Dunbar. The phenomenal start for the Black Bears came to a screeching halt, as those two goals would be it the rest of the way. Georgia held Ottawa scoreless for the remainder of the first, all the while scoring the next five. Those goals were scored by Shayne Jackson twice, Andrew Kew, Brendan Bomberry, and Lyle. 5-2 Swarm after one. Jackson’s first of those goals was a disgusting reverse dunk from behind the net. Lyle’s goal was an absolute missile from the slot, giving him 350 for his illustrious career.
If you refer to the beginning of this, you’ll see that the second quarter didn’t go according to plan for Georgia. Rather, it was an absolute masterclass by Ottawa in an attempt to come back. Ottawa broke their scoreless streak by scoring the first five goals of the second quarter and regaining the lead. The first goal was scored by Dunbar at the 14:09 mark, and the last was by Teat at the 5:39 mark. So just like Georgia, Ottawa kept them at bay and took control. The goals in between were scored by Reilly O’Connor, Larson Sundown, and Teat. Seth Oakes buried his first to close out the frame and break the scoreless drought by the Swarm. 7-6 Black Bears at the break, in quite the shocking turn of events.
“I think it’s us relying on things that we pride ourselves on”, said Sundown about the success early in the first and second quarters. “It’s pushing the ball, being unselfish, and certainly playing with pace.”
Both goaltenders got their work in the first half. Zach Higgins, who has been outstanding all year long, stopped 18 of 24. On the other end, Brett Dobson, who has been equally impressive, stopped 21 of 28. As we know, the second half was a completely different story for these two studs between the pipes.
That offensive explosion would be it for the Black Bears rest of the way, as in the third and fourth quarters, goals would be far and few between. Kew and Teat traded goals to begin the third, but Teat’s would be the only one of the quarter for Ottawa. Kew’s goal was pure filth as he was being hounded by an Ottawa defender and fired a sick behind-the-back shot that went in. Georgia slammed their foot on the gas on the offensive side and was absolutely stifling defensively. The Swarm rattled off the next four to close out the third, and the momentum had swung once again. The goal scorers during this run were Miles Thompson, Lyle, Oakes, and Bryan Cole. 11-8 Swarm after three.
Georgia continued the pace to begin the fourth quarter, as they scored the first two goals to increase their lead and bump the current run to six-in-a-row. Those two were scored by Kew and Lyle, giving them each a hat trick. Teat answered with his fourth, but as we’ve said before, this would be the only goal Ottawa would score in the fourth, which in turn, wasn’t nearly enough to make a comeback. Oakes buried his hat trick, and Jeff Henrick notched his first, and this one was all but over. Your final from Canadian Tire Centre, 15-9 Swarm.
Players of the game for Georgia were Lyle (3+3), Kew (3+3), and Oakes (3+1). Dobson completely shook off the second quarter and was rock solid the rest of the way. Dobber made 42 saves on 51 shots. For Ottawa, Teat (4+3), Dunbar (two goals), and Kearnan (1+5) led the way. Higgins had a second half to forget, making 31 saves on 46 shots in total.
“I feel like to start the new year, it was a tough stretch for us”, said Dobson. “I feel like it was a good confidence boost to get a win here, and I’m looking forward to the next one next weekend against Sask.”
Georgia (7-4) sits in third place in the standings and are on a roll. Like Dobber said, their next contest is a big one as they welcome in Saskatchewan (9-3). That game is this Saturday at 7:30pm. Ottawa (5-6) still sits on the line between playoffs or bust. They look to get back into the win column in their next game, which is a few weeks away, when they welcome in Rochester (6-7). That one is Saturday March 15th at 3pm
