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Game Preview - Halifax @ Georgia

Mar 27, 2025

The Halifax Thunderbirds head back on the road for a Sunday afternoon matchup against the Georgia Swarm at Gas South Arena. Opening face-off is at 5:00 p.m. AT.

Scouting the Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds have had no trouble finding twine over their last two months. They have hit double-digit goal totals in seven of their last eight games and in five of those outings, they have 13 or more goals. The Thunderbirds have had back-to-back games with 17 goals for – both victories at home. 

Now, they head into a pivotal stretch in their year, with three of their final four games on the road. They’ll need to continue to get solid outings from top scorers Randy Staats (21G, 55A) and Clarke Petterson (25G, 47A). The righties continue to put up big numbers every week, and the Halifax offence goes as they go. 

Captain Cody Jamieson (15G, 15A) continues his push for 1,000 points. The veteran lefty is now just 10 points away from the feat. Jamieson has 14 points over his last three games. Thomas Hoggarth (25G, 22A) also continues to be on pace to match his career-high in points (61) if he can continue his production. Hoggarth and Petterson are tied for the team lead in goals. 

During the Thunderbirds’ last two victories, they have found success in transition – something they have excelled at for much of this mid-season turnaround. 

Graeme Hossack (5G, 15A) had a career night, finishing last weekend with a hat trick and five points along with 13 loose balls and a caused turnover. Not to be outdone, Jake Withers (4G, 15A) and Ryan Terefenko (16G, 17A) also chipped in with great games. Withers had two assists and 24 loose balls while Terefenko finished with a goal, four points, eight loose balls, and a caused turnover. 

Trevor Smyth also has goals in back-to-back games in transition, with last week’s tally coming shorthanded on a 5-on-3. 

Drew Hutchison entered the game last week and got the victory. He sits with a 13.35 goals-against average and a .743 save percentage while Warren Hill has a 11.05 GAA and a .770 SV% across 14 contests.

Scouting the Swarm

The Swarm are a veteran unit that always proves to be tough to gameplan for. The team is led by a pair of former NLL MVPs in Lyle Thompson (35G, 41A) and Shayne Jackson (23G, 31A). Star lefty Andrew Kew (18G, 35A) has also posted 85-plus points in his first two years with the team.

Georgia also has a pair of multi-talented players in Bryan Cole (27G, 21A) and Brendan Bomberry (10G, 33A), who have each made the move from playing transition to offence in previous years. 

Rookie lefty Toron Eccleston (10G, 13A) has also been a shot in the arm offensively for the Swarm when called on. The 6-foot-5 forward is averaging over a goal per game this year. 

The Swarm also have depth scoring in Seth Oakes (9G, 13A) and Miles Thompson (9G, 10A). 

Georgia is anchored on the back end by vets in Jordan MacIntosh, Adam Wiedemann, Joey Cupido, and Mike Manley. They also have the likes of John Ranagan, Liam Byrnes, and Jeremy Thompson providing them with big minutes out of the back gate. 

Goaltender Brett Dobson sits with an 11.49 GAA and a .766 SV% in 14 games. 

Milestone Watch

  • Tyson Bell needs one loose ball to reach 800 for his career
  • Nonkon Thompson needs one loose ball to reach 100 for his career
  • Thomas Hoggarth needs 12 loose balls to reach 400 for his career
  • Jason Knox needs eight loose balls to reach 100 for his career
  • Randy Staats needs 13 assists to reach 400 for his career
  • Clarke Petterson needs 11 goals to reach 150 for his career
  • Cody Jamieson needs 10 points to become the 17th player in NLL history to reach 1,000 career points

Broadcast Info

Thunderbirds fans can tune into all of Sunday’s action on TSN+ and NLL+ in Canada and ESPN+ in the United States.

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