The NLL Finals will be All-Canadian. The Toronto Rock and Halifax Thunderbirds won their Semifinals, each in three games, setting up the ultimate clash of hard work vs. passion, youth vs. experience – winner to be the 2026 NLL Champion. It is the first time since 2015 that the Finals feature two Canadian teams, when Edmonton defeated Toronto for the title.
Toronto hosts Game 1 on Friday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m., and Halifax hosts Game 2 on Sunday, May 17 at 6:00 p.m. If necessary, Game 3 will be played back at TD Coliseum on Saturday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m.
*All times Eastern
HAMILTON, CANADA – MAY 9: 2026 NLL semi-finals game action between the San Diego Seals and Toronto Rock at TD Coliseum on May 9, 2026 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Christian Bender/NLL)
The Toronto Rock are heading to the NLL Finals for the first time since 2015 after defeating the San Diego Seals two games to one in their Semifinal series. Home floor worked for each club with both of Toronto’s wins coming at TD Coliseum.
Game 1: 14-12 Toronto
Game 2: 11-6 San Diego
Game 3: 14-8 Toronto
“[Game 3] was a little bit of a picture of our season where we don’t do it easy but we find a way…. It’s real easy to play this game when things are clicking for you,” said head coach Matt Sawyer.
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The Rock put together a balanced effort in Game 3 with nine players finding the back of the net. They scored the first four goals of the game, all in transition, which the Seals answered with their own five-goal run. After Hugh Kelleher and Zach Currier traded goals, the Rock went back on the attack with a six-goal run for an 11-6 lead. CJ Kirst and Chris Boushy traded goals twice in the last three minutes of the third quarter; Sam English, with his second of the game, and Mark Matthews finished off the run early in the fourth. San Diego scored a pair in the final quarter, but Rock goaltender Nick Rose wasn’t giving them any good looks.
“We’re a resilient group; nobody can deny that,” Rose said. “I think that’s just the case in the NLL; the parity is insane in this league. Even though we got up in the first quarter, we knew they weren’t going away. Credit to them, there’s a lot of warriors over there, but tonight was our night and I’m glad we responded like we did.”
The Rock looked strong in Game 1, but it wasn’t a blowout. They worked very hard to stay ahead of the Seals, who tied the game five times before taking an 11-10 lead midway through the fourth. Toronto responded with an outside goal shot up the middle from captain Challen Rogers. With 1:33 remaining, Mark Matthews followed that up with a similar goal going high to low, and with 1:08 remaining, Rogers spun off a defender to score short side for the 13-11 lead.
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But the fun wasn’t over. Ben McIntosh hit the dunk goal with 47 seconds left, rattling the Rock faithful before Sam English capitalized on the Seals’ empty net. McIntosh appeared to score on a second dunk with 16 seconds left, but his right hand touched down in the crease upon review.
“It’s confidence in our group,” Matthews told TSN’s Ashley Docking. “When we come out and be aggressive, we’re a very hard team to stop and you saw that at the end with Challen again.”
Seals’ starting goaltender Chris Origlieri made 14 saves in 21 minutes before leaving the game after stopping a pair of shots with his helmet. Cam Dunkerley took over and made 18 saves. Origlieri was subsequently moved to the IR.
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In Game 2, the Seals humbled the Rock. San Diego was the better team at both ends of the floor and held things together when the Rock showed frustration late in the game with three players receiving early showers.
“We lost it up front,” said Rogers in a team press release. “Our D was playing great as usual, and we just weren’t going to the areas that we have success with, and it was evident. We weren’t getting quality looks because we weren’t getting to the quality areas and then frustration boiled over.”
Wes Berg in Game 2. (Photo: Alexis Goeller)
San Diego scored seven unanswered goals between the 7:24 mark of the first quarter and the 8:31 mark of the third. The Rock offence showed signs of life in the fourth with a four-goal output, but penalties hindered their comeback attempt.
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Dunkerley made 69 saves in his two starts. Game 2 was his first start since January 9th and his first ever playoff start. Insert any cliché you want here: he looked like he’d been the starter all season; he played like his life depended on it.
“I just stayed calm in the moment,” Dunkerley told ESPN’s Hayley Elwood. “I was doing this not just for myself but for the team, the organization… everybody who wasn’t able to play tonight. I was just enjoying the moment.”
For Toronto, Nick Rose made a combined 131 saves while contributing five assists from his crease.
Sam English, Challen Rogers and Mark Matthews each had a hat trick in Game 1, with English and Rogers also contributing two assists and Matthews one. Boushy’s goal and two assists led the offence in Game 2, and English stepped up again in Game 3 with two goals and three assists.
Tre Leclaire and Ben McIntosh had hat tricks in Game 1 for San Diego, with four and one assists, respectively. Dylan Watson’s time to shine was Game 2, in which he scored four times. Zach Currier’s six points (3G/3A) were tops in Game 3.
Series Leaders
English 6-6
Boushy 6-2
Matthews 5-3
Rogers 4-4
Kirst 3-4
Watson 6-2
Leclaire 5-8
Currier 5-8
McIntosh 4-3
Berg 2-6
Robinson 2-5
Halifax, Nova Scotia – May 10: National Lacrosse League game between the Halifax Thunderbirds and Georgia Swarm on May 10 2026 at the Scotiabank Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Thunderbirds)
As Warren Hill goes, so too do the Halifax Thunderbirds, and never was that truer than in their Semifinal series against the Georgia Swarm. Hill was outstanding in Games 1 and 3, halting a Swarm offence that proved in Game 2 it could strike at will. The NLL Cup will head to Nova Scotia and the eastern part of Canada for the first time.
Game 1: 12-7 Halifax
Game 2: 21-10 Georgia
Game 3: 15-11 Halifax
“It’s amazing, it’s awesome and I’m so proud of this group,” an emotional Hill told TSN’s Brianne Foley. “I love every single one of these guys. I just wanted to play as good as I could for them. I can’t describe it. We all played for it, we all wanted to do it, and I get another weekend with my best friends.”
Hill made 89 saves over the series, but it was his work in the first and last game that will be remembered as the difference. He was truly “in the zone.”
The Thunderbirds got a Game 3 boost with Randy Staats and Max Wilson back in the lineup. Staats scored and contributed four assists, and Wilson suited up with brother Casey for the first time as Thunderbirds.
Halifax, Nova Scotia – May 10: National Lacrosse League game between the Halifax Thunderbirds and Georgia Swarm on May 10 2026 at the Scotiabank Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Max and Casey Wilson. (Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Thunderbirds)
The opening frame was back and forth as a wild scoring frenzy took place. When the dust settled, Halifax led 7-6. Only four goals were scored in the second quarter, with Halifax still holding down a one-goal lead, 9-8, at halftime, in front of a smaller-than-normal but louder-than-usual crowd at Scotiabank Centre.
Clarke Petterson and Bo BowHunter increased Halifax’s lead to 11-8 in the third, with Hill holding the Swarm scoreless on 18 shots. That third period proved to be huge with the Swarm pressing in the fourth, but Halifax’s defence stepped up in a major way to limit shots.
They outshot the Swarm 58-48, caused 10 turnovers to Georgia’s three, blocked seven shots while Georgia blocked none, and recovered 84 loose balls to 51. Jake Withers scooped an incomprehensible 29 himself. And, their power play capitalized on four of six opportunities. It’s a credit to the Halifax coaching staff how well the team rebounded after losing by 11 goals the night before.
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Georgia’s 21-10 win in Game 2 was an eyebrow raiser for most. Nobody doubted the Swarm could win big, but an 11-goal spread in a playoff game in a league with so much parity was surprising, especially after watching Halifax hold their last four opponents to seven goals or fewer.
Tied 2-2 by the 6:07 mark of the first, the Swarm scored five straight for a 7-2 lead that increased to 11-7 by halftime. Nolan Byrne, seen with a visible limp heading to the bench, scored his fourth goal of the game and third in a row to kick off the third quarter. Knox replied for Halifax, but Georgia then rattled off seven consecutive markers to run away with it, with Thunderbirds defencemen scrambling and missing their marks. Hill made way for Drew Hutchison twice in the game.
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Byrne would miss Game 3.
Halifax had no answer, and undisciplined play crept into their game as the score got out of hand. Georgia took advantage, scoring four goals on eight power play opportunities.
Brett Dobson made 44 saves as the Swarm were out shot for the second consecutive game.
Jeff Henrick and Ethan O’Connor both go for a loose ball. Rochester at Georgia 4/18/2026 (Photo: Victoria Adkins)
There’s a pattern here: if the Thunderbirds keep their noses to the grindstone, they’ll have success. As they did in Game 3, the Thunderbirds won almost every stat category in Game 1. They outshot Georgia 65-42, Jake Withers won 19 of 23 faceoffs, and Halifax won the loose ball battle 81-59. Not only was it their best defensive effort of the season, but it also allowed the offence to relax and concentrate on poking holes in Georgia’s defence.
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“Confidence is key and we just have to keep on rolling,” Jason Knox, who led Halifax with four goals, told Jack Sadighian after the game. “I’m hitting my shots, getting my opportunities and hitting them. Teammates are getting me open and I’m using my feet better and finding space and letting it go.”
The Swarm led 2-1 after the first and increased their lead to 4-1 on early second quarter goals from captain Jordan MacIntosh and Lyle Thompson. But the rest of the frame belonged to the ‘Birds. Brendan Bomberry, Clarke Petterson, Stephen Keogh and Knox, with his second, gave Halifax a 5-4 lead at halftime.
Knox and Richie Connell traded goals to open the third. Later, Halifax had a short run, with Keogh, Casey Wilson and Bomberry scoring in a span of 1:30, each goal coming as the Swarm left the middle lane in front of goaltender Brett Dobson wide open. Kaleb Benedict and Shayne Jackson replied for the home team, but Halifax ended the game with three more, including Johnny Pearson’s first-ever playoff goal on a transition break, Knox’s fourth and an empty netter from Petterson.
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Petterson and Knox starred for the Thunderbirds in the Semifinals. Knox scored 11 goals in addition to his four from the Quarterfinals and added five assists. Petterson scored four goals but assisted on 23 of his teammates’ markers. Captain Cody Jamieson stepped up with four big goals, early in game to get the team rolling, and 11 assists.
For Georgia, Shayne Jackson led with seven goals and 13 assists over the series, 10 of those points coming in Game 2. Lyle Thompson and Kaleb Benedict each had nine points in that game.
Knox 11-5
Bomberry 5-0
Petterson 4-23
Jamieson 4-11
Robinson 3-6
Wilson 3-5
Jackson 7-13
Thompson 5-11
Connell 5-2
Benedict 4-9
Byrne 4-1
Cole 3-6
