2019 NLL Tournament

Pat Saunders scored five goals to lead the Rochester Knighthawks past the Colorado Mammoth. Saunders scored four goals in the first half, but Rochester was still down 7-6 at halftime. They stormed into the lead in the 3rd quarter 12-10, as Saunders scored his 5th goal. Colorado came back to tie the game at 12, but a pair of power play goals by Kyle Jackson put the game away late. Rochester will face the #1 seed Buffalo in their next game.

The San Diego Seals jumped out to an early lead on a pair of goals by Kyle Buchanon and never looked back. Buchanon scored five goals and teammate Austin Staats delivered four more in a rout of Philadelphia. he Seals outscored Philadelphia in every quarter, and pulled away in the fourth with seven goals. San Diego will face the #3 seed Toronto in their next game.

The New England Black Wolves jumped out to a 6-1 halftime lead on their way to an 8-6 win over the Vancouver Stealth. Doug Jamieson (NE) then came up big in the 3rd quarter, with four spectacular saves. Those proved vital as Vancouver made a late charge with three goals in the 4th quarter, still coming up short. Joe Resetarits (NE) and Mitch Jones (VAN) each scored three goals for their teams, with Jones totaling 8 points in a losing effort. New England will now face #2 Georgia in their next game.

The Saskatchewan Rush were able to hold on against a late charging Calgary squad with a narrow 12-11 win to advance to the semifinals where they will face the winner of the Buffalo/Rochester game. Rhys Duch was a thorn in the side of the Rush, scoring 4 goals and recording 2 assists. He had two 4th quarter goals. The Calgary Roughnecks got great production out of their front line scorers, but a balanced attack by the Rush included 8+ points from Robert Church, Mark Matthews, and Jeff Shattler.

The Rochester Knighthawks delivered five unanswered goals in the second period on their way to victory. Cody Jamieson led the Knighthawks with 4 goals and Ryan Benesch scored three, including a pair of 4th quarter goals. Rochester will now face the #4 seed Saskatchewan in the semifinals. Corey Small scored two goals for Buffalo in a losing effort.

The Toronto Rock jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Between the first and third quarters they scored 11 unanswered goals. Rob Hellyer put together one of the most impressive playoff scoring efforts with 5 goals and 7 assists to lead the Rock offense. The San Diego Seals were really never competitive in this game. Toronto will await the winner of the New England/Georgia game in the semi-finals.

The Georgia Swarm erased a 4-3 1st Quarter deficit and closed out the game late with a 10-8 win to advance to the semi-finals where they will face the #3 seed Toronto Rock. Lyle Thompson and Randy Staats each scored three goals to lead the Georgia attack. Alex Buque played well for New England with a pair of spectacular saves, but it wasn't enough.

Ben McIntosh put his Rush teammates on his back as he dominated the Knighthawks scoring six goals and registering one assist. Saskatchewan advances to the 2019 NLL Finals with a 12-7 win over Rochester, who see their Cinderella run through the playoffs come to an end. The Rush shutout Rochester in the 2nd Quarter and then outscored them 5-1 in the third, scoring four goals in the final four minutes of the quarter. They now await the winner of the other semifinal.

Shayne Jackson scored two goals in the 4th Quarter to cap a Swarm win to advance to the finals. The Toronto Rock were unable to score in the final 29 minutes of the game, and Georgia finished with 4 unanswered goals as they came from behind in a very close game. Rob Hellyer recorded a hat trick, but Shayne Jackson delivered late, and his late goals gave him a hat trick as well. Georgia will face Saskatchewan in the finals.

Lyle Thompson would not be denied as his five goals and one assist lifted the Swarm to the 2019 title! Georgia never trailed in the game, although it remained fairly close throughout. Thompson scored back to back goals in the 3rd period as part of a 4-0 run by Georgia that saw them increase their lead from 5-4 to 9-4. The Rush attempted to come back, but were in too deep a hole to climb out.