HAMILTON, CANADA – APRIL 4: 2025 NLL regular season game action between the San Diego Seals Roughnecks and Toronto Rock at TD Coliseum on April 4, 2026 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Christian Bender/NLL)
With their much-debated upset win over the #2 Colorado Mammoth in the quarterfinal round, the San Diego Seals have snuck out of the quarterfinal round and into the semifinals to take on the Toronto Rock! The second-versus-seventh quarterfinal matchup sparked significant chatter across social media channels, with San Diego’s Tre Leclaire scoring the game-winning goal in overtime.
After a post-game review, NLL Commissioner Brett Frood issued an official statement earlier this week addressing the matchup’s outcome.
“After League review, the League has concluded that Leclaire violated rules 67.3 and 17.81 by being the first player to receive a pass after exiting the crease; as such, the goal should have been disallowed and possession awarded to Colorado,” Frood explained.
As part of the NLL’s standard accountability process, Frood also announced that “the on-floor officials from this game will not be assigned further games during these playoffs.”
Despite the online chatter, the outcome of the Colorado-San Diego matchup could have gone either way in extra minutes. While the Mammoth held a multi-goal lead in the third quarter, the Seals were able to scrape together a four-goal quarter to keep Colorado at a two-goal lead. Goalkeeper Christopher Origlieri and his San Diego defense were then able to hold the Mammoth to a single goal in the fourth to send the quarterfinal into overtime. Additionally, during regulation, the Seals outshot the Mammoth by nearly 50% (SD 68 SOG, COL 45 SOG), and were able to control the flow of transition throughout the game thanks to Trevor Baptiste’s 26 wins on 29 faceoffs. Though the goal being overturned would have given Colorado possession with 14 minutes of extra time left to play, whether the outcome would have changed could still only be chalked up to a ‘what if.’
With that said, this week’s doubleheader marks the Seals’ second appearance in the NLL round of four since the League’s move to the unified standings during the 2023-2024 season, in which the Seals fell to that year’s runner-ups, the FireWolves. Since the team’s inaugural 2017 season, San Diego has made five postseason appearances but has yet to make it past the Western Conference Finals or the unified semifinal round. Their best-of-three series against Toronto is not only the Seals’ opportunity to prove they belong at the playoff table, but to finally break their streak of historical playoff near-misses and bring their first title home to Pechanga Arena.
On a more concrete note, the Toronto Rock will be hosting a playoff game for the second straight weekend. With the reigning champs having been knocked out of the running on the opposite side of the bracket, Toronto’s upset win last weekend has also knocked the 2025 runner-ups out of playoff contention. Their 16-13 victory featured two hat-trick performances from rookie sensation CJ Kirst and veteran star Josh Dawick, as well as a near sock trick from Oakville hero, Chris Boushy.
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This Friday’s matchup against San Diego marks the Rock’s first trip to the semis since the 2024 NLL Playoffs, during which Toronto fell in two games to the would-be champs, the Buffalo Bandits. The Rock brings with them an extensive history of playoff appearances and multiple final and semifinal appearances, but has yet to bring home a title win since the 2011 Playoffs. During their 15-year title drought, the Rock have appeared in all but two postseasons (not including the cancelled 2020 and 2021 playoffs).
With the Rock making their return and the Seals making their re-re-debut in the semifinals, it’s worth noting that the two teams have no playoff history, as the two have participated in opposing regional conferences or been placed on opposite sides of the unified playoff brackets during coinciding appearances. However, during the regular season, Toronto and San Diego have squared off twice, with Toronto taking home both wins.
While the season’s previous meetings may give Seals fans a twinge of doubt heading into the weekend, the semifinal best-of-three model gives both teams the opportunity to make it out with a win or even clinch their slot in the finals with two straight victories.
GAME 1 – FRIDAY, MAY 1ST @ TD COLISEUM, 7:30PM ET on TSN, TSN+ and ESPN+.
GAME 2 – SUNDAY, MAY 3RD @ PECHANGA ARENA, 6:00PM ET on TSN, ESPNU, ESPN+, TSN+ and NLL+.
Game 3 – FRIDAY, MAY 9TH @ TD COLISEUM, 7:00PM ET ON TSN+, ESPN+ and NLL+
| GAME 1 ODDS | Money Line | Total Line | Over/Under | Spread | |
| San Diego | +120 | 20.5 | -120 | +1.5 | -120 |
| Toronto | -160 | -110 | -1.5 | -110 |
| SERIES ODDS | Money Line | ||||
| San Diego | +108 | ||||
| Toronto | -150 |
Odds provided by NXTBets. Lines subject to change.
With Vancouver, Colorado and Saskatchewan all eliminated, the #4 Georgia Swarm enters the weekend as the highest remaining seed in the semifinal. While the Swarm entered their quarterfinal matchup against the Buffalo Bandits as the higher seed, initial odds and fan expectations saw the three-time champs breezing into the semifinal and a potential fourth straight title. The Swarm, however, not only defied expectations but made good on their promise of a home win and a good show. Their 17-10 first-round victory featured not only multiple 5+ point performances, including three six-point evenings for Kaleb Benedict (2G, 4A), Nolan Byrne (3G, 3A) and Kean Moon (0G, 6A), as well as a standout 10-point evening for franchise player Lyle Thompson (4G, 6A). Thompson currently leads the League in playoff points and is second for both goals and assists.
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Georgia’s quarterfinal victory marks the franchise’s first trip to the semifinal round since the League’s adoption of the unified standings, having qualified in both the 2024 and 2025 Playoffs but dropping in the quarterfinal. With a major rookie force in tow and echoes of their 2017 Championship run weighing heavily on fans’ minds, the Swarm are eager to open their three-game series with a second home playoff win and start the series off on a high note. However, with their quarterfinal win, the Swarm’s backend suffered a heavy loss with the unexpected injury to rookie defender Michael Grace, reportedly out for the remainder of the playoffs with an ACL injury. Grace has been a key figure in Georgia’s defensive success, leading the rookie class in caused turnovers during the regular season (28 CTO, 4th in the League) and third in rookie loose ball pickups (108 LB, 35th in the League). Despite his early exit against Buffalo, Georgia’s defensive presence remained heavy on the Bandits’ forwards, but there’s no guarantee lightning strikes twice.
On the visitors’ bench, the Halifax Thunderbirds shocked the League with last weekend’s quarterfinal upset against the #1 Vancouver Warriors. Early projections favored Vancouver in the quarterfinals across the board, but the Thunderbirds’ 71 shots on goal– dwarfing the shooter-heavy Warriors by nearly 30 shots– as well as the Halifax defense’s shutout second half, allowed the visitors to not only recover from their six-goal deficit, but build a three-goal lead of their own to progress to the next round. Now back in the semifinal round for the second straight year, Halifax is headed into Gas South Arena with confidence at an all-time high and an intense need to put 2025’s semifinal loss behind them.
Over the course of their six seasons in Halifax, the Thunderbirds have qualified for every available postseason appearance, with the exception of the 2020 and 2021 COVID seasons. Additionally, while the Thunderbirds did keep the winning records and NLL titles won during their previous incarnation as the original Rochester Knighthawks, they’ve yet to bring home the trophy to their new home in Nova Scotia. While the original Knighthawks (Thunderbirds) have faced the Swarm as both the Minnesota and Georgia Swarm in the 2013 and 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, there’s no precedent set yet against the Georgia Swarm in the postseason, having only squared off during the regular season, with the Swarm picking up two wins just this year.
While neither team can clinch a Finals appearance this weekend, both Halifax and Georgia are looking to start Week 2 of the semifinals ahead of their competitor. While initial odds do favor the Swarm as the team to move ahead, Halifax has no desire for a repeat of the 2025 Playoffs and has proven once already that the higher their seed, the harder they fall.
GAME 1 – SATURDAY, MAY 2ND @ GAS SOUTH ARENA, 7:30PM ET on TSN, TSN+, ESPN+ and NLL+
GAME 2 – SATURDAY, MAY 9TH @ SCOTIABANK CENTRE, 6:00PM ET on TSN+, ESPN+ and NLL+
GAME 3 – SATURDAY, MAY 10TH @ SCOTIABANK CENTRE, 6:00PM ET ON TSN+, ESPN+ and NLL+
| GAME ODDS | Money Line | Total Line | Over/Under | Spread | |
| Georgia | -181 | 20.5 | -120 | -1.5 | -120 |
| Halifax | +135 | -110 | +1.5 | -110 |
| SERIES ODDS | Money Line | ||||
| Georgia | -164 | ||||
| Halifax | +117 |
Odds provided by NXTBets. Lines subject to change.
