DULUTH, Ga. — Despite a furious fourth-quarter comeback and an 11-point night from forward Joe Resetarits, the Albany FireWolves saw their three-game win streak come to an end Friday night as a seven-goal first-half run by the Georgia Swarm proved too much for Albany to overcome in a 14-13 loss.
Albany (3-3) took an early 2-0 lead Friday at Gas South Arena, but the Swarm (3-4) answered with a 7-0 run to take the lead and bounced back after an Albany rally to tie the game in the fourth quarter.
Down 11-7 late in the third, the FireWolves scored four straight goals, with Ryan Benesch scoring to tie things up with 10:38 to play.
However, Georgia’s Shayne Jackson scored back-to-back goals to put the Swarm up 13-11, then added a late insurance goal two restore the two-goal margin after Albany had made it 13-12 on a Colton Watkinson goal with 1:14 to play. Charlie Kitchen scored in the final seconds for Albany to account for the final score.
Resetarits had an enormous performance in the loss, with the former UAlbany star putting up four goals and seven assists, while Beesch scored four goals of his own. It was another former UAlbany star who led the way for Georgia, as Lyle Thompson had an eight-point night with two goals and six assists, while Jackson chipped in four goals and three assists.
The game was the first in a home-and-home series between the teams on consecutive nights. They’ll meet again Saturday at 7 p.m. at MVP Arena in Albany.
Albany 2 3 3 5 — 13
Georgia 4 4 3 3 — 14
Albany scoring: Malcolm 0-1, Kitchen 1-1, Benesch 4-1, Downing 0-1, O’Connor 1-4, Nishimura 0-2, Manney 0-1, Resetarits 4-7, Watkinson 1-0, Ruest 2-0, Chaykowsky 0-2, LaFontaine 0-1, Sorichetti 0-1, Durston 0-1. Georgia scoring: Thompson 2-6, White 0-2, Tabell 1-0, Hall 1-0, Bomberry 2-2, MacIntosh 1-5, Jackson 4-3, Kirst 0-1, Cole 0-1, Walker 3-1, MacSpadyen 0-1, Comizio 0-1. Goalies: Albany, Jamieson, 34 saves. Georgia, Poulin, 26 saves.
