2003 NLL season
Sports season
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The 2003 National Lacrosse League season is the 17th season in the NLL that began on December 27, 2002, and concluded with the championship game on May 3, 2003.
| 2003 NLL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Lacrosse League |
| Sport | Indoor lacrosse |
| Duration | December 27, 2002 – May 3, 2003 |
| Games | 16 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Gary Gait (Colorado Mammoth) |
| Top scorer | John Tavares (Buffalo Bandits) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Colorado Mammoth |
| Eastern runners-up | Philadelphia Wings |
| Central champions | Rochester Knighthawks |
| Central runners-up | Buffalo Bandits |
| Northern champions | Toronto Rock |
| Northern runners-up | Calgary Roughnecks |
| Champion's Cup | |
| Champions | Toronto Rock (4th title) |
| Runners-up | Rochester Knighthawks |
| Finals MVP | Bob Watson (Toronto) |
In 2003, the NLL became the first major men's sports league in North America to feature a woman playing in a regular-season game. Ginny Capicchioni, a stand-out goaltender at Sacred Heart University, was signed by the New Jersey Storm as their third-string goaltender. She dressed for three games, though only played in one. Capicchioni collected one loose ball and made six saves while allowing 7 goals in 11 minutes of play.[1]
Team movement
2003 saw the Montreal Express suspend operations, and also saw the Washington Power move to Colorado, where even they were unprepared for the warm welcome they received in Denver. The franchise had drawn small crowds in Washington as well as in Pittsburgh and Baltimore before that, but averaged more than 16,000 fans per game[2] in 2003, second in the league only to Toronto.
Teams
| 2003 National Lacrosse League | |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | 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 | ||
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Blue Cross Arena | 10,662 | ||
| East | Colorado Mammoth | Denver, Colorado | Pepsi Center | 18,007 | |
| New Jersey Storm | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Izod Center | 19,040 | ||
| New York Saints | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 16,234 | ||
| Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | First Union Center | 19,519 | ||
| North | Calgary Roughnecks | Calgary, Alberta | Pengrowth Saddledome | 19,289 | |
| Ottawa Rebel | Ottawa, Ontario | Ottawa Civic Centre | 10,550 | ||
| Toronto Rock | Toronto, Ontario | Air Canada Centre | 18,800 | ||
| Vancouver Ravens | Vancouver, British Columbia | General Motors Place | 18,514 | ||
Map of teams
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Central Division 
East Division 
North Division
Milestones
- January 31: John Tavares became the 3rd player in NLL history (after Gary and Paul Gait) with 400 career goals, scoring 5 and adding 6 assists as the Buffalo Bandits defeated the Columbus Landsharks 19–16[3]
Final standings
Regular season
Reference: [4]
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rochester Knighthawks – xyz | 16 | 12 | 4 | .750 | 0.0 | 6–2 | 6–2 | 214 | 173 | +41 | 13.38 | 10.81 |
| 2 | Buffalo Bandits – x | 16 | 12 | 4 | .750 | 0.0 | 8–0 | 4–4 | 231 | 188 | +43 | 14.44 | 11.75 |
| 3 | Albany Attack | 16 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 4.0 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 198 | 191 | +7 | 12.38 | 11.94 |
| 4 | Columbus Landsharks | 16 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 4.0 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 184 | 203 | −19 | 11.50 | 12.69 |
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado Mammoth – xy | 16 | 9 | 7 | .562 | 0.0 | 6–2 | 3–5 | 226 | 223 | +3 | 14.12 | 13.94 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Wings | 16 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 1.0 | 6–2 | 2–6 | 203 | 209 | −6 | 12.69 | 13.06 |
| 3 | New York Saints | 16 | 3 | 13 | .188 | 6.0 | 2–6 | 1–7 | 198 | 239 | −41 | 12.38 | 14.94 |
| 4 | New Jersey Storm | 16 | 3 | 13 | .188 | 6.0 | 3–5 | 0–8 | 187 | 220 | −33 | 11.69 | 13.75 |
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Rock – xy | 16 | 11 | 5 | .688 | 0.0 | 6–2 | 5–3 | 195 | 164 | +31 | 12.19 | 10.25 |
| 2 | Calgary Roughnecks – x | 16 | 9 | 7 | .562 | 2.0 | 6–2 | 3–5 | 209 | 207 | +2 | 13.06 | 12.94 |
| 3 | Vancouver Ravens – x | 16 | 9 | 7 | .562 | 2.0 | 5–3 | 4–4 | 208 | 196 | +12 | 13.00 | 12.25 |
| 4 | Ottawa Rebel | 16 | 4 | 12 | .250 | 7.0 | 3–5 | 1–7 | 174 | 214 | −40 | 10.88 | 13.38 |
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
Playoffs
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Colorado | 11 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Vancouver | 12 | 2 | Toronto | 15 | |||||||||
| 4 | Colorado | 15 | 2 | Toronto | 8 | |||||||||
| 1 | Rochester | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Buffalo | 13 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Calgary | 9 | 1 | Rochester | 16 | |||||||||
| 3 | Buffalo | 16 | ||||||||||||
Semifinals
Colorado 11 @ Toronto 15
Buffalo 13 @ Rochester 16
Championship
Toronto 8 @ Rochester 6
All Star Game
No NLL All-Star game was held in 2003.
Awards
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP Award | Gary Gait | Colorado |
| Rookie of the Year Award | Brian Langtry | Colorado |
| Coach of the Year | Darris Kilgour | Buffalo |
| GM of the Year Award | Kurt Silcott | Buffalo |
| Executive of the Year Award | Brad Banister | Calgary |
| Defensive Player of the Year Award | Jim Moss | Albany |
| Goaltender of the Year Award | Pat O'Toole | Rochester |
| Sportsmanship Award | Chris Driscoll | New York / Toronto |
| Championship Game MVP | Bob Watson | Toronto |
Weekly awards
The NLL gives out awards weekly for the best overall player, best offensive player, best defensive player, and best rookie.
| Week | Overall | Offensive | Defensive | Rookie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Greer | Tracey Kelusky | Matt Roik | Patrick Merrill |
| 2 | Erik Miller | Steve Toll | Erik Miller | Cam Sedgwick |
| 3 | Jason Clark | Jason Clark | Pat Campbell | Chris Schiller |
| 4 | Steve Dietrich | Pat Maddalena | Bill Greer | Tom Montour |
| 5 | Dallas Eliuk | Blaine Manning | Dallas Eliuk | Aaron Wilson |
| 6 | John Tavares | Del Halladay | Curtis Palidwor | Aaron Wilson |
| 7 | Chris Driscoll | Chris Driscoll | Curtis Palidwor | Nick Polanco |
| 8 | Bill Greer | Colin Doyle | Pat O'Toole | Lewis Ratcliff |
| 9 | Jim Veltman | Tom Marechek | Jim Veltman | Aaron Wilson |
| 10 | Gary Gait | Shawn Williams | Gee Nash | Travis Gillespie |
| 11 | Jeff Ratcliffe | Jeff Ratcliffe | Kyle Couling | Brian Tower |
| 12 | Gary Gait | Derek Malawsky | Dwight Maetche | Marc Morley |
| 13 | Gary Gait | Curt Malawsky | Gee Nash | Brian Langtry |
| 14 | Tracey Kelusky | John Grant, Jr. | Pat O'Toole | Brian Langtry |
| 15 | Pat Maddalena | Mike Accursi | Brian Beisel | Brian Lantry |
| 16 | Erik Miller | Pat Maddalena | Erik Miller | Marc Morley |
Monthly awards
Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
| Month | Overall | Rookie |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | Pat Maddalena John Tavares (tie) | Cam Sedgwick |
| Feb | Chris Driscoll | Aaron Wilson |
| Mar | Gary Gait | Brian Langtry |
Statistics leaders
Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.
| Stat | Player | Team | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | Gary Gait | Colorado | 61 |
| Assists | John Tavares | Buffalo | 58 |
| Points | John Tavares | Buffalo | 107 |
| Penalty Minutes | Casey Zaph | Rochester | 59 |
| Loose Balls | Jim Veltman | Toronto | 207 |
| Save Pct | Pat O'Toole | Rochester | 78.3 |
Attendance
Regular season
| Home team | Home games | Average attendance | Total attendance[5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Rock | 8 | 16,733 | 133,867 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 8 | 16,488 | 131,907 |
| Philadelphia Wings | 8 | 14,021 | 112,168 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 8 | 11,446 | 91,567 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 8 | 8,984 | 71,870 |
| Vancouver Ravens | 8 | 8,337 | 66,699 |
| Buffalo Bandits | 8 | 7,002 | 56,015 |
| New Jersey Storm | 8 | 5,484 | 43,874 |
| New York Saints | 8 | 4,260 | 34,079 |
| Ottawa Rebel | 8 | 4,202 | 33,619 |
| Albany Attack | 8 | 3,689 | 25,103 |
| Columbus Landsharks | 8 | 3,138 | 25,103 |
| League | 96 | 8,603 | 825,871 |
Playoffs
| Home team | Home games | Average attendance | Total attendance[5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Mammoth | 1 | 17,129 | 17,129 |
| Toronto Rock | 1 | 16,733 | 16,733 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 2 | 9,943 | 19,885 |
| Buffalo Bandits | 1 | 6,761 | 6,761 |
| League | 5 | 12,102 | 60,508 |