2001 NLL season
Sports season
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The 2001 National Lacrosse League season is the 15th season in the NLL that began on December 21, 2000, and concluded with the championship game on April 27, 2001. The Philadelphia Wings won their 6th NLL championship, defeating the Toronto Rock 9–8 in Toronto. Philadelphia had now won twice as many championships as any other team in NLL history (the Buffalo Bandits had won three, and the Rock two). The Championship game was one of only two games (out of ten) the Rock lost at home during the 2001 season, and ended Toronto's bid for an unprecedented third straight Championship.
| 2001 NLL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Lacrosse League |
| Sport | Indoor lacrosse |
| Duration | December 21, 2000 – April 27, 2001 |
| Games | 14 |
| Teams | 9 |
| TV partner | CNN Sports Illustrated[1][2][3][4][5] |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Gavin Prout |
| Picked by | New York Saints |
| Regular season | |
| League champions | Toronto Rock |
| Runners-up | Philadelphia Wings |
| Season MVP | John Tavares (Buffalo Bandits) |
| Top scorer | John Tavares (Buffalo Bandits) |
| Champion's Cup | |
| Champions | Philadelphia Wings (6th title) |
| Runners-up | Toronto Rock |
| Finals MVP | Dallas Eliuk (Wings) |
The NLL expanded its schedule from 12 games to 14 during this season.
The lowest-scoring game in NLL history happened during the 2001 season, as the Toronto Rock and Albany Attack combined for only 11 goals in a 7-4 Toronto win at the Air Canada Centre.
Team movement
For the 2001 season, one expansion team was added to the NLL, the Columbus Landsharks. In addition, the Syracuse Smash ended a dismal existence (dead last in the standings for three straight years) in Syracuse, moving to Ottawa, Ontario to become the Rebel. Unfortunately, the Rebel would finish in the basement three straight years as well. The Pittsburgh CrosseFire, formerly the Baltimore Thunder, moved again, this time to Washington, becoming the Washington Power.
In addition, the Toronto Rock moved from the aging Maple Leaf Gardens to the Air Canada Centre for the 2001 season. The first Rock game at the ACC was a 17-7 Toronto win over the Ottawa Rebel on the opening night of the season, December 21, 2000.[6]
Teams
| 2001 National Lacrosse League | |||||
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity | ||
| Albany Attack | Albany, New York | Pepsi Arena | 14,236 | ||
| Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | HSBC Arena | 18,690 | ||
| Columbus Landsharks | Columbus, Ohio | Nationwide Arena | 18,136 | ||
| New York Saints | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 16,297 | ||
| Ottawa Rebel | Ottawa, Ontario | Corel Centre | 18,500 | ||
| Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | First Union Center | 19,519 | ||
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Blue Cross Arena | 10,662 | ||
| Toronto Rock | Toronto, Ontario | Air Canada Centre | 18,800 | ||
| Washington Power | Washington, District of Columbia | MCI Center | 18,277 | ||
Map of teams
National Lacrosse League Teams
Regular season
Reference: [7]
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Rock – xyz | 14 | 11 | 3 | .786 | 0.0 | 6–1 | 5–2 | 168 | 125 | +43 | 12.00 | 8.93 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Wings – x | 14 | 10 | 4 | .714 | 1.0 | 6–1 | 4–3 | 205 | 177 | +28 | 14.64 | 12.64 |
| 3 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 14 | 10 | 4 | .714 | 1.0 | 6–1 | 4–3 | 198 | 159 | +39 | 14.14 | 11.36 |
| 4 | Washington Power – x | 14 | 9 | 5 | .643 | 2.0 | 4–3 | 5–2 | 226 | 204 | +22 | 16.14 | 14.57 |
| 5 | Buffalo Bandits | 14 | 8 | 6 | .571 | 3.0 | 4–3 | 4–3 | 248 | 218 | +30 | 17.71 | 15.57 |
| 6 | New York Saints | 14 | 6 | 8 | .429 | 5.0 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 179 | 181 | −2 | 12.79 | 12.93 |
| 7 | Albany Attack | 14 | 5 | 9 | .357 | 6.0 | 3–4 | 2–5 | 152 | 169 | −17 | 10.86 | 12.07 |
| 8 | Columbus Landsharks | 14 | 3 | 11 | .214 | 8.0 | 1–6 | 2–5 | 134 | 201 | −67 | 9.57 | 14.36 |
| 9 | Ottawa Rebel | 14 | 1 | 13 | .071 | 10.0 | 0–7 | 1–6 | 144 | 220 | −76 | 10.29 | 15.71 |
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
Statistics leaders
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; LB = Loose Balls The following players lead the league in regular season points at the conclusion of games played on April 14, 2001.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | LB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Tavares | Buffalo Bandits | 14 | 51 | 64 | 115 | 14 | 159 |
| Gary Gait | Washington Power | 14 | 43 | 47 | 90 | 10 | 82 |
| John Grant Jr. | Rochester Knighthawks | 14 | 42 | 48 | 90 | 18 | 124 |
| Jake Bergey | Philadelphia Wings | 14 | 43 | 43 | 86 | 2 | 90 |
| Tom Marechek | Philadelphia Wings | 13 | 48 | 31 | 79 | 14 | 62 |
| Shawn Williams | Buffalo Bandits | 14 | 46 | 31 | 77 | 0 | 100 |
| Roy Colsey | New York Saints | 14 | 51 | 25 | 76 | 52 | 92 |
| Derek Malawsky | Buffalo Bandits | 12 | 23 | 47 | 70 | 12 | 81 |
| Cory Bomberry | Rochester Knighthawks | 14 | 24 | 42 | 66 | 14 | 69 |
| Kevin Finneran | Philadelphia Wings | 14 | 23 | 39 | 62 | 11 | 54 |
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: GA = Goals Allowed; SV% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals against average
The following goaltenders lead the league at the conclusion regular season on April 14, 2001.
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | GA | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Watson | Toronto Rock | 14 | 715 | 10 | 2 | 106 | .796 | 8.90 |
| Pat O'Toole | Rochester Knighthawks | 13 | 555 | 8 | 2 | 98 | .796 | 10.59 |
| Dallas Eliuk | Philadelphia Wings | 14 | 747 | 8 | 2 | 149 | .771 | 11.97 |
| Rob Blasdell | Albany Attack | 13 | 745 | 5 | 8 | 151 | .758 | 12.16 |
| Gee Nash | New York Saints | 14 | 807 | 6 | 6 | 168 | .772 | 12.46 |
All Star Game
No All-Star game was held in 2001.
Playoffs
| Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||
| 3 | Rochester | 11 | |||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia | 12 | |||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia | 9 | |||||||
| 1 | Toronto | 8 | |||||||
| 4 | Washington | 9 | |||||||
| 1 | Toronto | 10 | |||||||
Awards
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP Award | John Tavares | Buffalo |
| Rookie of the Year Award | Tracey Kelusky | Columbus |
| Coach of the Year | Tony Resch | Philadelphia |
| Executive of the Year Award | Russ Cline | Philadelphia |
| Goaltender of the Year Award | Bob Watson | Toronto |
| Championship Game MVP | Dallas Eliuk | Philadelphia |
Weekly awards
Each week, a player is awarded "Player of the Week" honours.
| Week | Player of the Week |
|---|---|
| 1 | no award given |
| 2 | John Grant Jr. |
| 3 | John Tavares |
| 4 | Roy Colsey |
| 5 | Derek Malawsky |
| 6 | Steve Toll |
| 7 | Jake Bergey |
| 8 | Devin Dalep |
| 9 | Pat O'Toole |
| 10 | Gee Nash |
| 11 | Tracey Kelusky |
| 12 | Kim Squire |
| 13 | Kevin Finneran |
| 14 | Pat O'Toole |
| 15 | Matt Shearer |
| 16 | Roy Colsey |
| 17 | Dallas Eliuk |
Monthly awards
Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
| Month | Overall | Rookie |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | Derek Malawsky | Tracey Kelusky |
| Feb | John Tavares | Kris Bryde |
| Mar | Gary Gait | Tracey Kelusky |
Attendance
Regular season
| Home team | Home games | Average attendance | Total attendance[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Rock | 7 | 15,749 | 110,240 |
| Philadelphia Wings | 7 | 15,174 | 106,215 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 7 | 9,147 | 64,032 |
| Ottawa Rebel | 7 | 8,058 | 56,409 |
| Buffalo Bandits | 7 | 8,041 | 56,289 |
| Columbus Landsharks | 7 | 6,559 | 45,912 |
| New York Saints | 7 | 5,918 | 41,426 |
| Albany Attack | 7 | 4,255 | 29,782 |
| Washington Power | 7 | 3,341 | 23,386 |
| League | 63 | 8,471 | 533,691 |
Playoffs
| Home team | Home games | Average attendance | Total attendance[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Rock | 2 | 16,926 | 33,851 |
| Philadelphia Wings | 1 | 10,259 | 10,259 |
| League | 3 | 14,703 | 44,110 |