Halifax clinched the best-of-three NLL semifinal series against the Georgia Swarm, defeating Georgia 15-11 at Scotiabank Centre to win the series 2-1 and advance to the NLL finals. The Thunderbirds will visit the Toronto Rock for Game 1 of the finals on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, with Game 2 set for Halifax on Sunday at 6 p.m. and a potential Game 3 in Toronto on May 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Clarke Petterson paced Halifax with a game-high nine points on two goals and seven assists. Jason Knox recorded a hat trick and three assists, Randy Staats had one goal and four assists, and Cody Jamieson added two goals and three assists. Halifax led 9-8 at halftime and opened the third quarter with a 2-0 run to lead 11-8. Goaltender Warren Hill made 37 saves. Late in the third quarter, Ben Trumble of Georgia was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding with 12:20 remaining, and Halifax scored twice on the extended power play to increase the lead to 13-9. For Georgia, Shayne Jackson had three goals and three assists, Lyle Thompson recorded four assists, and goaltender Brett Dobson made 43 saves.

Georgia had forced a decisive Game 3 with a 21-10 victory in Game 2 at the same venue, evening the series at 1-1. In that game Shayne Jackson totaled 10 points with three goals and seven assists, Lyle Thompson had nine points with four goals and five assists, and Kaleb Benedict finished with nine points on three goals and six assists. Nolan Byrne scored four goals and Brett Dobson made 44 saves. Georgia led 5-2 after the first quarter and 11-7 at halftime, then outscored Halifax 5-1 in the third quarter and 5-2 in the fourth. Halifax’s Game 2 contributions included nine assists from Clarke Petterson, four goals from Jason Knox, and two goals and five assists from Cody Jamieson, with Warren Hill and Drew Hutchison combining for 30 saves.