Ottawa Black Bears
NLL professional box lacrosse team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ottawa Black Bears (French: Ours Noirs d'Ottawa) are a Canadian professional box lacrosse team based in Ottawa, Ontario that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). From 2024 to 2026, the team played its home games at Canadian Tire Centre, which is also the home arena of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. The Black Bears began play in the 2024–25 season.
Sport | Box lacrosse |
|---|---|
| First season | 2024-25 |
| League | National Lacrosse League |
| Team history | New York Riptide 2018–2024 |
| Colours | Black, red, gold, white |
Owner | GF Sports |
Head coach | Dan MacRae |
| General manager | Dan MacRae |
| Website | ottawablackbears |
History
On February 20, 2024, John Rodenburg of CFGO Radio reported that the New York Riptide would be relocating to Ottawa following the conclusion of the 2023–24 season and will play their home games at Canadian Tire Centre for the 2024–25 season. The team cited poor attendance and their eviction from Nassau Coliseum as factors in the move.[1] The next day, NLL commissioner Brett Frood made the official announcement that the Riptide would be relocating to Ottawa and rebranding as the Ottawa Black Bears. This marks the first time professional box lacrosse has been played in Ottawa since 2003, when the Ottawa Rebel played their final season in Canada's capital before relocating to Edmonton and later to Saskatchewan, where they are now known as the Saskatchewan Rush.[2]
Roster
| Active (21-man) roster | Inactive roster | Coaches | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Dan Macrae
| |||||||
All-time record
| Season | W–L | Finish | Home | Road | GF | GA | Coach | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8–10 | 9th | 4–5 | 4–5 | 183 | 202 | Dan Ladouceur | Did not qualify |
| 2026 | 8–10 | 10th | 4–5 | 4–5 | 185 | 203 | Dan MacRae | Did not qualify |
| Total | 16–20 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 368 | 405 | |||