2020 NLL season
Sports season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2020 National Lacrosse League season, formally known as the 2019–2020 season, was the 34th in the history of the NLL. The season began on November 29, 2019, and was scheduled to end with the NLL final in late spring of 2020.[2][3] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was suspended on March 12, 2020.[4] On April 8, the league made a further public statement announcing the cancellation of the remaining games of the 2020 season and that they would be exploring options for playoffs once it was safe to resume play.[5][6]
| 2020 NLL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Lacrosse League |
| Sport | Indoor lacrosse (box lacrosse) |
| Duration | November 29, 2019 — March 12, 2020 |
| Games | 18 |
| Teams | 13 |
| TV partner(s) | B/R Live[1] (United States) Twitter and Facebook (Globally) |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Tyson Gibson |
| Picked by | New York Riptide |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | New England Black Wolves |
| Season MVP | Shayne Jackson (Georgia Swarm) |
| Top scorer | Callum Crawford (New England Black Wolves) |
| Playoffs | |
This season was the inaugural season for the expansion Knighthawks[7] and Riptide.[8][9] The former Rochester Knighthawks under owner Curt Styres relocated to Halifax for this season while Pegula Sports and Entertainment took over the Knighthawks moniker with a new expansion team.[10][11][12]
With the addition of two teams, the NLL was realigned into a three division league. The five west division teams remained the same but the six east division and two expansion teams were distributed into a north and a new east division. The top-two teams in each division would qualify for the playoffs plus and additional two wild card teams.[13]
Teams
| 2020 National Lacrosse League | |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | KeyBank Center | 19,070 | |
| Halifax Thunderbirds | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Scotiabank Centre | 10,500 | ||
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Blue Cross Arena | 10,662 | ||
| Toronto Rock | Toronto, Ontario | Scotiabank Arena | 18,800 | ||
| East | Georgia Swarm | Duluth, Georgia | Infinite Energy Arena | 10,500 | |
| New England Black Wolves | Uncasville, Connecticut | Mohegan Sun Arena | 7,074 | ||
| New York Riptide | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 13,917 | ||
| Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Wells Fargo Center | 19,306 | ||
| West | Calgary Roughnecks | Calgary, Alberta | Scotiabank Saddledome | 19,289 | |
| Colorado Mammoth | Denver, Colorado | Pepsi Center | 18,007 | ||
| San Diego Seals | San Diego, California | Pechanga Arena | 12,920 | ||
| Saskatchewan Rush | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | SaskTel Centre | 15,195 | ||
| Vancouver Warriors | Vancouver, British Columbia | Rogers Arena | 18,910 | ||
Map of teams
.svg)
North Division 
East Division 
West Division
Regular season
Reference: [14]
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Halifax Thunderbirds | 12 | 8 | 4 | .667 | 0.0 | 6–1 | 2–3 | 139 | 126 | +13 | 11.58 | 10.50 |
| 2 | Toronto Rock | 11 | 7 | 4 | .636 | 0.5 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 122 | 106 | +16 | 11.09 | 9.64 |
| 3 | Buffalo Bandits | 11 | 7 | 4 | .636 | 0.5 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 130 | 118 | +12 | 11.82 | 10.73 |
| 4 | Rochester Knighthawks | 12 | 2 | 10 | .167 | 6.0 | 2–3 | 0–7 | 115 | 165 | −50 | 9.58 | 13.75 |
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New England Black Wolves | 11 | 8 | 3 | .727 | 0.0 | 4–3 | 4–0 | 135 | 101 | +34 | 12.27 | 9.18 |
| 2 | Georgia Swarm | 12 | 7 | 5 | .583 | 1.5 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 149 | 126 | +23 | 12.42 | 10.50 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Wings | 14 | 8 | 6 | .571 | 1.5 | 3–3 | 5–3 | 151 | 134 | +17 | 10.79 | 9.57 |
| 4 | New York Riptide | 13 | 1 | 12 | .077 | 8.0 | 1–5 | 0–7 | 116 | 177 | −61 | 8.92 | 13.62 |
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saskatchewan Rush | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 0.0 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 111 | 93 | +18 | 11.10 | 9.30 |
| 2 | Colorado Mammoth | 13 | 7 | 6 | .538 | 1.5 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 128 | 125 | +3 | 9.85 | 9.62 |
| 3 | San Diego Seals | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | 2.0 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 138 | 131 | +7 | 11.50 | 10.92 |
| 4 | Calgary Roughnecks | 10 | 5 | 5 | .500 | 2.0 | 1–4 | 4–1 | 122 | 111 | +11 | 12.20 | 11.10 |
| 5 | Vancouver Warriors | 13 | 4 | 9 | .308 | 4.5 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 117 | 160 | −43 | 9.00 | 12.31 |
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
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; LB = Loose Balls
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | LB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Callum Crawford | New England Black Wolves | 11 | 33 | 43 | 76 | 2 | 52 |
| Mitchell Jones | Vancouver Warriors | 13 | 28 | 46 | 74 | 17 | 89 |
| Shayne Jackson | Georgia Swarm | 12 | 31 | 42 | 73 | 8 | 65 |
| Kevin Crowley | Philadelphia Wings | 14 | 20 | 51 | 71 | 10 | 56 |
| Randy Staats | Georgia Swarm | 12 | 22 | 48 | 70 | 17 | 63 |
| Holden Cattoni | Rochester Knighthawks | 12 | 24 | 38 | 62 | 8 | 60 |
| Lyle Thompson | Georgia Swarm | 12 | 27 | 33 | 60 | 4 | 87 |
| Ryan Lee | Colorado Mammoth | 13 | 25 | 35 | 60 | 4 | 63 |
| Cody Jamieson | Halifax Thunderbirds | 12 | 26 | 33 | 59 | 18 | 45 |
| Wesley Berg | San Diego Seals | 12 | 19 | 39 | 58 | 4 | 52 |
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: GA = Goals Allowed; SV% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | GA | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Jamieson | New England Black Wolves | 11 | 654 | 8 | 3 | 96 | 0.828 | 8.80 |
| Evan Kirk | Saskatchewan Rush | 10 | 563 | 7 | 2 | 87 | 0.813 | 9.26 |
| Nick Rose | Toronto Rock | 11 | 656 | 7 | 4 | 103 | 0.816 | 9.41 |
| Nick Damude | San Diego Seals | 12 | 292 | 3 | 1 | 46 | 0.790 | 9.43 |
| Zach Higgins | Philadelphia Wings | 14 | 800 | 8 | 5 | 126 | 0.814 | 9.44 |
Awards
Annual awards
References: Winners[15]
| Award | Winner | Other Finalists |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Shayne Jackson, Georgia Swarm | Callum Crawford, New England Black Wolves Rob Hellyer, Toronto Rock |
| Goaltender of the Year | Doug Jamieson, New England Black Wolves | Zach Higgins, Philadelphia Wings Dillon Ward, Colorado Mammoth |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Graeme Hossack, Halifax Thunderbirds | Robert Hope, Colorado Mammoth Kyle Rubisch, Saskatchewan Rush |
| Transition Player of the Year | Challen Rogers, Toronto Rock | Zach Currier, Calgary Roughnecks Kiel Matisz, Philadelphia Wings |
| Rookie of the Year | Tyson Gibson, New York Riptide | Connor Fields, San Diego Seals Andrew Kew, New England Black Wolves |
| Sportsmanship Award | Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm | Kyle Buchanan, San Diego Seals Curtis Knight, Rochester Knighthawks |
| GM of the Year | Paul Day, Philadelphia Wings | Jamie Dawick, Toronto Rock Rich Lisk, New England Black Wolves |
| Les Bartley Award | Paul Day, Philadelphia Wings | Mike Accursi, Halifax Thunderbirds Glenn Clark, New England Black Wolves |
| Executive of the Year Award | John Catalano, Halifax Thunderbirds | Matt Hutchings, Colorado Mammoth Rich Lisk, New England Black Wolves |
| Teammate of the Year Award | Dan Dawson, Toronto Rock (tie) Mike Poulin, Georgia Swarm |
John Ranagan, New England Black Wolves |
| Tom Borrelli Award | Craig Rybczynski | Jake Elliott Teddy Jenner |
Stadiums and locations
| Georgia Swarm | New England Black Wolves | New York Riptide | Philadelphia Wings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gas South Arena | Mohegan Sun Arena | Nassau Coliseum | Wells Fargo Center |
| Capacity: 11,355 | Capacity: 7,700 | Capacity: 13,917 | Capacity: 19,543 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Buffalo Bandits | Halifax Thunderbirds | Rochester Knighthawks | Toronto Rock |
|---|---|---|---|
| KeyBank Center | Scotiabank Centre[2] | Blue Cross Arena | Scotiabank Arena |
| Capacity: 19,070 | Capacity: 10,595 | Capacity: 11,200 | Capacity: 18,819 |
 |
.JPG) |
 |
 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | Colorado Mammoth | San Diego Seals | Saskatchewan Rush | Vancouver Warriors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotiabank Saddledome | Ball Arena | Pechanga Arena | SaskTel Centre | Rogers Arena |
| Capacity: 19,289 | Capacity: 18,007 | Capacity: 12,920 | Capacity: 15,190 | Capacity: 18,910 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Attendance
| Home team | Home games | Average attendance | Total attendance[16] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Roughnecks | 5 | 12,677 | 63,387 |
| Buffalo Bandits | 6 | 12,089 | 72,537 |
| Saskatchewan Rush | 5 | 12,007 | 60,039 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 6 | 11,586 | 69,521 |
| Toronto Rock | 6 | 8,339 | 50,037 |
| Philadelphia Wings | 6 | 8,054 | 48,325 |
| Halifax Thunderbirds | 7 | 7,642 | 53,496 |
| Georgia Swarm | 6 | 7,613 | 45,681 |
| Vancouver Warriors | 6 | 6,769 | 40,616 |
| New England Black Wolves | 7 | 5,132 | 35,928 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 5 | 5,050 | 25,252 |
| San Diego Seals | 6 | 4,829 | 28,977 |
| New York Riptide | 6 | 4,157 | 24,942 |
| League | 77 | 8,035 | 618,738 |