Orlin & Cohen Postgame Report: Riptide Fall to Swarm 12-7

The New York Riptide could not solve Brett Dobson on Friday night as they fell 12-7 to the Georgia Swarm at Gas South Arena, dealing a fatal blow to New York’s playoff hopes.

Reilly O’Connor led New York with 4 points on 2 goals and 2 assists, while Matt Marinier and Connor Kearnan had 3 points apiece. Cameron Dunkerley made 36 saves.

The first quarter was a goalie battle, with Dobson making 10 saves for Georgia and Dunkerley making 7 for New York, with only Brendan Bomberry for the Swarm and O’Connor for the Riptide being able to legally find the back of the net.

Georgia scored twice in quick succession to start off the second quarter before Tyler Digby got one back for New York, however Georgia was able to score four straight after this, including an Andrew Kew power play goal at the buzzer to take a 7-2 lead into the half.

O’Connor broke a scoring drought of over 18 minutes for the Riptide with a power play marker, although Georgia responded shortly thereafter through Seth Oakes. Mike Burke and Bryan Cole then traded goals to close out the third, and New York went into the fourth quarter with a 9-4 deficit.

Kearnan started the final period with a shorthanded goal in transition, although Cole would score the next two goals of the game to give Georgia their biggest lead of the night and then a John Ranagan empty netter put the game out of reach. Burke and Digby added two late goals, the first time the Riptide managed to score consecutive goals on the night, though this proved to be too little too late.

The Riptide’s next game is a visit to the Buffalo Bandits on Saturday, April 15 with faceoff scheduled for 7:30 PM at the KeyBank Center. The game will be available to watch on ESPN+, and listen to on WRHU 88.7 FM, WRHU.org and the WRHU iPhone App. Live stats and periodic in-game updates will be available via Twitter @ NewYorkRiptide.