Gary Groob
Lax Philly – A Division of Edge of Philly Sports Network
The Georgia Swarm (9-8) took their final road trip of the regular season this past Saturday when they faced the expansion Panther City Lacrosse Club (7-10) in Fort Worth, Texas in front of 3,959 fans. Georgia was looking to snap their two-game losing streak, while Panther City Lacrosse club was riding high after an upset victory over the playoff-bound San Diego Seals (9-7).
After a six-point performance against the Buffalo Bandits (April 16 – 1G, 5A), Lyle Thompson is now tied for second in the NLL in goals with 42 (behind Toronto’s Tom Schreiber with 45) and ranks seventh in league points, recording 90. For Panther City, Patrick Dodds ranks tied for eighth in assists (53), and 15th in points (76), while Will Malcom ranks 19th in points (72). Shayne Jackson sits 20th in league points, collecting 69 (33G, 36A).
The goalie match-up had Mike Poulin in net for the Swarm, facing Nick Damude guarding the cage for Panther City.
The Thompson Brothers were dominant in this back and forth affair scoring 11 points between the two of them. Panther City put up a good fight with Nathan Grenon scoring three times, and Phil Caputo scoring twice. In the end the Swarm outlasted Panther City 12-9.
To the game…
The Swarm opened up the scoring on the power play, with a beautiful finish of a Tic-Tac-Toe play of Lyle Thompson, to Stephan Leblanc, to Miles Thompson (4g,0a) for the goal at 4:52. Panther City came back when Phil Caputo (2g,2a) got himself in position out front of the net, scoring while taking a check at 5:23, followed by Nathan Grenon (3g,1a) converting a Will Malcom pass just 0:28 seconds later for the 2-1 lead.
Jordan MacIntosh (1g,0a) tied the game up for Georgia, converting a Brendan Bomberry pass at 7:30, followed by Lyle Thompson (3g,4a) with a beautiful individual effort to give the Swarm the lead at 10:40 unassisted. Georgia increased their lead when Lyle fed Miles Thompson for his second of the night at 12:01. The interesting thing here is Thompson beat Nick Damude switching from righty to lefty for the shot.
The Thompson show continued with Lyle scoring his second of the night off a pass from Robert Hudson at 14:20.
After one quarter, Georgia 5 Panther City 2.
Second Quarter:
Panther City opened the second quarter scoring on the power play when Dean Fairall fed Patrick Dodds (1g,4a), who beat Mike Poulin at 4:01. Ryan MacSpadyen (1g,0a) came right back for the Swarm in transition, converting a Chad Tutton pass just 0:47 seconds later. Nathan Grenon scored his second of the night converting a Will Malcom pass at 8:03, followed by Malcom (1g,4a) himself scoring off a Grenon pass at 9:44, making this just a one goal game. Liam Patten (1g,0a) scooped up a Georgia Swarm turnover on his side of center, ran in on a breakaway scoring to tie the game up at 13:45.
At the half, Georgia 6 Panther City 6.
Third Quarter:
Georgia opened up the second half scoring when Stephan Leblanc (1g,3a) converted a Brendan Bomberry pass at 1:39, but two quick goals from Panther City gave them the lead. Cam Milligan (1g,1a) converted a Phil Caputo pass at 4:06, followed by Nathan Grenon with his third of the night off a Patrick Dodds pass just 0:33 seconds later.
The Swarm tied the game when Lyle Thompson scored his third of the night. Thompson fired a howitzer from just inside of the restraining line to the top corner, beating Nick Damude at 14:49.
After three quarters, Georgia 8 Panther City 8.
Fourth Quarter:
Georgia got going quickly in the fourth quarter with Miles Thompson scoring twice, both off brother Lyle’s feeds. The first goal was scored just 0:35 seconds in, followed by a power play tally at 3:26.
Not to be out done, Panther City got one back when Phil Caputo scored his second of the night on the power play at 5:36.
Shayne Jackson (2g,2a) gave the Swarm the two goal cushion back when he converted a Jordan Hall pass at 9:27, and sealed the deal with an empty net goal at 14:45.
Final score, Georgia 12 Panther City 9.
The Three Stars:
- First Star……….Lyle Thompson
- Second Star…..Miles Thompson
- Third Star………Nathan Grenon
Game Statistics:
- Georgia outshot Panther City 51-48.
- The Swarm won the faceoff battle 14-11.
- The loose ball battle went to Georgia 48-47.
- Georgia went 2 for 4 on the power play, while Panther City went 2 for 5.
Top Scorers:
Georgia Swarm:
- Lyle Thompson 3g, 4a
- Miles Thompson 4g, 0a
- Stephan Leblanc 1g, 3a
Panther City Lacrosse Club:
- Will Malcom 1g, 4a
- Patrick Dodds 1g, 4a
- Nathan Grenon 3g, 1a
Upcoming Games:
Georgia will face the Philadelphia Wings at home on Saturday, April 30th at 7pm, in a game crucial to the playoff race.
Panther City face the Saskatchewan Rush at home on Saturday, April 30th at 8:30pm.
Gary Groob has been involved with Lacrosse for the majority of his life, whether playing, coaching, or covering the sport for the media.
An avid fan, with a real drive about helping to “grow the game”, Gary became part of podcasts about the game in 2010. Through the podcasts, Mr. Groob was given an opportunity to write about lacrosse, and the rest as they say, is history.
Through many miles (flying and driving) Gary has made inroads with the National Lacrosse League, Major Series Lacrosse League, the Ontario Lacrosse Association, as well as the Arena Lacrosse League, covering the leagues, their teams, and players, working for, and in concert with all of them.
In the year 2020, Mr. Groob was made the media person for the Arena Lacrosse League, voted onto the board of directors of the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club, as well as being made administrator of the Lacrosse page “Global Lacrosse” with a membership of 9000 members in over 90 Countries. Gary was also made an administrator of Lacrosse History Past Present and Future in 2022.
Mr. Groob co-hosts a weekly Lacrosse show on Spanglish Sports World, and ZingoTV channel 250, as well as writes a weekly lacrosse column for La Portada Canada News (both in print, and online).
Gary also hosts a Lacrosse talk show and podcast for The Edge of Philly Sports Network, seen live Sunday nights at 9pm (ET), and archived on the Edge of Philly YouTube page, as well as Spotify.
Mr. Groob’s other sports interests include Hockey, Football, Boxing, Wrestling, and Baseball, competing competitively in Boxing and Wrestling for many years.
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