2001 NLL season

Last updated
2001 NLL season
League National Lacrosse League
Sport Indoor lacrosse
DurationDecember 21, 2000 – April 27, 2001
Number of games14
Number of teams9
TV partner(s) CNN Sports Illustrated [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
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 (Philadelphia)
NLL seasons

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.

Contents

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

Black pog.svg National Lacrosse League Teams
2001 National Lacrosse League
TeamCityArenaCapacity
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

Regular season

Reference: [7]

PTeamGPWLPCTGBHomeRoadGFGADiffGF/GPGA/GP

1 Toronto Rock –xyz14113.7860.06–15–2168125+4312.008.93
2 Philadelphia Wings –x14104.7141.06–14–3205177+2814.6412.64
3 Rochester Knighthawks –x14104.7141.06–14–3198159+3914.1411.36
4 Washington Power –x1495.6432.04–35–2226204+2216.1414.57
5 Buffalo Bandits 1486.5713.04–34–3248218+3017.7115.57
6 New York Saints 1468.4295.03–43–4179181−212.7912.93
7 Albany Attack 1459.3576.03–42–5152169−1710.8612.07
8 Columbus Landsharks 14311.2148.01–62–5134201−679.5714.36
9 Ottawa Rebel 14113.07110.00–71–6144220−7610.2915.71

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

All Star Game

No All-Star game was held in 2001.

Playoffs

Semifinals Championship
      
3 Rochester 11
2 Philadelphia12
2 Philadelphia9
1 Toronto 8
4 Washington 9
1 Toronto10

Awards

AwardWinnerTeam
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.

WeekPlayer of the Week
1no award given
2 John Grant Jr.
3 John Tavares
4 Roy Colsey
5 Derek Malawsky
6 Steve Toll
7 Jake Bergey
8Devin Dalep
9 Pat O'Toole
10 Gee Nash
11 Tracey Kelusky
12Kim Squire
13 Kevin Finneran
14 Pat O'Toole
15 Matt Shearer
16Roy Colsey
17 Dallas Eliuk

Monthly awards

Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.

MonthOverallRookie
JanDerek MalawskyTracey Kelusky
FebJohn TavaresKris Bryde
Mar Gary Gait Tracey Kelusky

Statistics leaders

Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.

StatPlayerTeamNumber
GoalsRoy ColseyNew York51
AssistsJohn TavaresBuffalo64
PointsJohn TavaresBuffalo115
Penalty MinutesPat CoyleToronto65
Loose BallsJim VeltmanToronto161
Save PctPat O'TooleRochester79.7

Attendance

Regular Season

Home TeamHome GamesAverage AttendanceTotal Attendance [8]
Toronto Rock715,749110,240
Philadelphia Wings715,174106,215
Rochester Knighthawks79,14764,032
Ottawa Rebel78,05856,409
Buffalo Bandits78,04156,289
Columbus Landsharks76,55945,912
New York Saints75,91841,426
Albany Attack74,25529,782
Washington Power73,34123,386
League638,471533,691

Playoffs

Home TeamHome GamesAverage AttendanceTotal Attendance [8]
Toronto Rock216,92633,851
Philadelphia Wings110,25910,259
League314,70344,110

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fatsis, Stefan (March 9, 2001). "Trainer to the Stars Plans Launch of Lacrosse League". The Wall Street Journal.
  2. ↑ "Passion, energy was driving force of former commissioner Jim Jennings". Inside Lacrosse. December 8, 2014.
  3. ↑ Umstead, R. Thomas (September 23, 2001). "CNN/SI Shifts Focus From News to Events".
  4. ↑ "CNN/SI to televise NLL games". OurSports Central. August 20, 2001.
  5. ↑ "NLL ONLY SHAKEN BY TRAGEDY IN NEW YORK". The Buffalo News. September 15, 2001.
  6. ↑ Ben Knight. "Toronto Rocks Ottawa in season opener, 17-7". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
  7. ↑ "National Lacrosse League - 2001 Regular Season - Standings". NLL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "2001 Season". nllstats.com. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
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