2000 NLL season
Sports season
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The 2000 National Lacrosse League season is the 14th season in the NLL that began on January 7, 2000, and concluded with the championship game on May 6, 2000. The Toronto Rock defeated the Rochester Knighthawks 14–13. Kaleb Toth scored the winning goal with less than two seconds left in regulation to give the Rock their second straight championship.
| 2000 NLL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Lacrosse League |
| Sport | Indoor lacrosse |
| Duration | January 7, 2000 – May 6, 2000 |
| Games | 12 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Regular season | |
| League champions | Toronto Rock |
| Runners-up | Buffalo Bandits |
| Season MVP | John Tavares (Buffalo Bandits) |
| Top scorer | John Tavares (Buffalo Bandits) Gary Gait (Pittsburgh CrosseFire) |
| Champion's Cup | |
| Champions | Toronto Rock (2nd title) |
| Runners-up | Rochester Knighthawks |
| Finals MVP | Dan Stroup (Toronto) |
Team movement
One expansion team was added to the NLL for the 2000 season, the Albany Attack. In addition, the Baltimore Thunder left Baltimore and became the Pittsburgh CrosseFire, though the franchise would only last a single season in Pittsburgh before moving to Washington.
Teams
| 2000 National Lacrosse League | |||||
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity | ||
| Albany Attack | Albany, New York | Pepsi Arena | 14,236 | ||
| Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | Marine Midland Arena | 18,595 | ||
| New York Saints | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 16,297 | ||
| Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | First Union Center | 19,519 | ||
| Pittsburgh CrosseFire | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Civic Arena | 16,958 | ||
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Blue Cross Arena | 10,662 | ||
| Syracuse Smash | Syracuse, New York | Oncenter War Memorial Arena | 5,800 | ||
| Toronto Rock | Toronto, Ontario | Maple Leaf Gardens | 15,726 | ||
Map of teams
National Lacrosse League Teams
Regular season
Reference: [1]
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Rock – xyz | 12 | 9 | 3 | .750 | 0.0 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 162 | 130 | +32 | 13.50 | 10.83 |
| 2 | Buffalo Bandits – x | 12 | 8 | 4 | .667 | 1.0 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 202 | 194 | +8 | 16.83 | 16.17 |
| 3 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 12 | 8 | 4 | .667 | 1.0 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 187 | 149 | +38 | 15.58 | 12.42 |
| 4 | Philadelphia Wings – x | 12 | 7 | 5 | .583 | 2.0 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 172 | 165 | +7 | 14.33 | 13.75 |
| 5 | Albany Attack | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | 3.0 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 169 | 160 | +9 | 14.08 | 13.33 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh CrosseFire | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | 3.0 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 184 | 164 | +20 | 15.33 | 13.67 |
| 7 | New York Saints | 12 | 3 | 9 | .250 | 6.0 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 152 | 194 | −42 | 12.67 | 16.17 |
| 8 | Syracuse Smash | 12 | 1 | 11 | .083 | 8.0 | 1–5 | 0–6 | 135 | 207 | −72 | 11.25 | 17.25 |
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games Played
W: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowed
Differential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game
All Star Game
No All-Star game was held in 2000.
Playoffs
| Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||
| 3 | Rochester | 15 | |||||||
| 2 | Buffalo | 11 | |||||||
| 3 | Rochester | 13 | |||||||
| 1 | Toronto | 14 | |||||||
| 4 | Philadelphia | 10 | |||||||
| 1 | Toronto | 14 | |||||||
Awards
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP Award | John Tavares | Buffalo |
| Rookie of the Year Award | John Grant Jr. | Rochester |
| Championship Game MVP | Dan Stroup | Toronto |
Weekly awards
Each week, a player is awarded "Player of the Week" honours.
| Week | Player of the Week |
|---|---|
| 1 | Kim Squire |
| 2 | Josh Sanderson |
| 3 | Kip Fulks |
| 4 | Tom Marechek |
| 5 | Pat O'Toole |
| 6 | Roy Colsey |
| 7 | Matt Disher |
| 8 | Paul Gait |
| 9 | Kaleb Toth |
| 10 | Rob Blasdell |
| 11 | John Grant Jr. |
| 12 | Colin Doyle |
| 13 | John Grant, Jr. |
| 14 | Mark Millon |
| 15 | Mark Shepherd |
Monthly awards
Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
| Month | Overall | Rookie |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | Ted Dowling | John Grant, Jr. |
| Feb | John Tavares | Devin Dalep |
| Mar | Rob Blasdell | John Grant, Jr. |
Statistics leaders
Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.
| Stat | Player | Team | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | Ted Dowling | Albany | 41 |
| Tom Marechek | Philadelphia | 41 | |
| Assists | John Tavares | Buffalo | 49 |
| Points | Gary Gait | Baltimore | 83 |
| John Tavares | Buffalo | 83 | |
| Loose balls | Jim Veltman | Toronto | 167 |
| Save pct | Bob Watson | Toronto | 77.2 |
Attendance
Regular season
| Home team | Home games | Average attendance | Total attendance[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Wings | 6 | 15,857 | 95,143 |
| Toronto Rock | 6 | 13,881 | 83,287 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 6 | 8,910 | 53,458 |
| Buffalo Bandits | 6 | 8,186 | 49,116 |
| Albany Attack | 6 | 5,749 | 34,492 |
| New York Saints | 6 | 5,674 | 34,046 |
| Pittsburgh CrosseFire | 6 | 4,916 | 29,495 |
| Syracuse Smash | 6 | 2,660 | 15,957 |
| League | 48 | 8,229 | 394,994 |
Playoffs
| Home team | Home games | Average attendance | Total attendance[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Rock | 2 | 12,386 | 24,772 |
| Buffalo Bandits | 1 | 7,873 | 7,873 |
| League | 3 | 10,882 | 32,645 |