| 2017 NLL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Lacrosse League |
| Sport | Indoor lacrosse |
| Duration | December 29, 2016 – June 10, 2017 |
| Games | 18 |
| Teams | 9 |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Ryan Keenan |
| Picked by | Saskatchewan Rush |
| Regular Season | |
| Top seed | Georgia Swarm |
| Season MVP | Lyle Thompson (Georgia Swarm) |
| Top scorer | Lyle Thompson (Georgia Swarm) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Georgia Swarm (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Saskatchewan Rush |
| Finals MVP | Lyle Thompson (Swarm) |
The 2017 National Lacrosse League season, the 31st in the history of the NLL began on December 29, 2016, [1] and ended with the Champion's Cup Finals series on June 10, 2017, as the Georgia Swarm defeated the Saskatchewan Rush to win their franchise's first Champions Cup.
| 2017 National Lacrosse League | |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | KeyBank Center | 19,070 | |
| Georgia Swarm | Duluth, Georgia | Infinite Energy Arena | 10,500 | ||
| New England Black Wolves | Uncasville, Connecticut | Mohegan Sun Arena | 7,074 | ||
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Blue Cross Arena | 10,662 | ||
| Toronto Rock | Toronto, Ontario | Air Canada Centre | 18,800 | ||
| West | Calgary Roughnecks | Calgary, Alberta | Scotiabank Saddledome | 19,289 | |
| Colorado Mammoth | Denver, Colorado | Pepsi Center | 18,007 | ||
| Saskatchewan Rush | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | SaskTel Centre | 15,195 | ||
| Vancouver Stealth | Langley, British Columbia | Langley Events Centre | 5,276 | ||
Reference: [2]
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia Swarm –xyz | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 0.0 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 266 | 213 | +53 | 14.78 | 11.83 |
| 2 | Toronto Rock –x | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 4.0 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 219 | 200 | +19 | 12.17 | 11.11 |
| 3 | New England Black Wolves –x | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 5.0 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 220 | 244 | −24 | 12.22 | 13.56 |
| 4 | Rochester Knighthawks | 18 | 7 | 11 | .389 | 6.0 | 4–5 | 3–6 | 175 | 209 | −34 | 9.72 | 11.61 |
| 5 | Buffalo Bandits | 18 | 6 | 12 | .333 | 7.0 | 3–6 | 3–6 | 226 | 251 | −25 | 12.56 | 13.94 |
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saskatchewan Rush –xy | 18 | 12 | 6 | .667 | 0.0 | 8–1 | 4–5 | 231 | 212 | +19 | 12.83 | 11.78 |
| 2 | Vancouver Stealth –x | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 3.0 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 218 | 221 | −3 | 12.11 | 12.28 |
| 3 | Colorado Mammoth –x | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 3.0 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 202 | 199 | +3 | 11.22 | 11.06 |
| 4 | Calgary Roughnecks | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 4.0 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 212 | 220 | −8 | 11.78 | 12.22 |
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
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; LB = Loose Balls
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | LB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyle Thompson | Georgia Swarm | 18 | 45 | 71 | 116 | 8 | 126 |
| Mark Matthews | Saskatchewan Rush | 18 | 40 | 73 | 113 | 25 | 61 |
| Corey Small | Vancouver Stealth | 18 | 46 | 65 | 111 | 2 | 34 |
| Curtis Dickson | Calgary Roughnecks | 18 | 54 | 53 | 107 | 18 | 79 |
| Shawn Evans | New England Black Wolves | 17 | 38 | 65 | 103 | 50 | 90 |
| Callum Crawford | Colorado Mammoth | 18 | 36 | 62 | 98 | 8 | 74 |
| Rhys Duch | Vancouver Stealth | 17 | 38 | 56 | 94 | 7 | 70 |
| Tom Schreiber | Toronto Rock | 18 | 33 | 61 | 94 | 0 | 83 |
| Dane Dobbie | Calgary Roughnecks | 18 | 39 | 50 | 89 | 6 | 51 |
| Kevin Crowley | New England Black Wolves | 18 | 45 | 40 | 85 | 11 | 80 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Poulin | Georgia Swarm | 18 | 922 | 12 | 4 | 181 | 0.781 | 11.77 |
| Aaron Bold | Saskatchewan Rush | 17 | 935 | 11 | 4 | 175 | 0.763 | 11.22 |
| Dillon Ward | Colorado Mammoth | 18 | 909 | 9 | 6 | 165 | 0.792 | 10.89 |
| Nick Rose | Toronto Rock | 18 | 1019 | 8 | 8 | 184 | 0.774 | 10.82 |
| Frankie Scigliano | Calgary Roughnecks | 17 | 844 | 8 | 6 | 169 | 0.772 | 12.00 |
| Division semifinals | Division finals (3-game series) | Finals (3-game series) | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Georgia | 2 | ||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | Toronto | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Toronto | 18 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New England | 10 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Georgia | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Saskatchewan | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Saskatchewan | 2 | ||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||
| W3 | Colorado | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Vancouver | 12 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Colorado | 13 | ||||||||||||
*Overtime
| May 6, 2017 | Toronto Rock | 18–10 (5–6, 4–0, 3–1, 6–3) | New England Black Wolves | Air Canada Centre Attendance: 6,260 |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nick Rose Brandon Miller | Goalies | Evan Kirk Doug Jamieson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 11 min | Penalties | 13 min | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 60 | Shots | 46 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 6, 2017 | Vancouver Stealth | 12–13 (1–3, 5–4, 2–3, 4–3) | Colorado Mammoth | Langley Events Centre Attendance: 4,011 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tye Belanger | Goalies | Dillon Ward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 0 min | Penalties | 4 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 52 | Shots | 45 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 13, 2017 | Toronto Rock | 8–11 (1–0, 3–2, 1–4, 3–5) | Georgia Swarm | Air Canada Centre Attendance: 7,329 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Miller | Goalies | Mike Poulin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 12 min | Penalties | 4 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 47 | Shots | 56 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 20, 2017 | Georgia Swarm | 13–9 (5–4, 4–2, 1–1, 3–2) | Toronto Rock | Infinite Energy Arena Attendance: 7,992 |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Mike Poulin | Goalies | Brandon Miller Nick Rose | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2 min | Penalties | 5 min | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 49 | Shots | 51 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Swarm wins series 2–0.
| May 13, 2017 | Colorado Mammoth | 9–18 (2–2, 3–3, 3–4, 1–9) | Saskatchewan Rush | Pepsi Center Attendance: 11,012 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dillon Ward Alex Buque | Goalies | Aaron Bold | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 19 min | Penalties | 6 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 40 | Shots | 57 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 20, 2017 | Saskatchewan Rush | 11–10 (2–3, 2–1, 5–4, 2–2) | Colorado Mammoth | SaskTel Centre Attendance: 14,052 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Bold | Goalies | Dillon Ward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 7 min | Penalties | 6 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 48 | Shots | 42 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rush wins series 2–0.
| June 4, 2017 | Georgia Swarm | 18–14 (3–4, 4–5, 4–2, 7–3) | Saskatchewan Rush | Infinite Energy Arena Attendance: 7,642 |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Mike Poulin | Goalies | Aaron Bold Tyler Carlson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 34 min | Penalties | 4 min | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 54 | Shots | 50 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 10, 2017 | Saskatchewan Rush | 14–15 OT (3–5, 3–2, 2–3, 6–4, 0–1) | Georgia Swarm | SaskTel Centre Attendance: 14,264 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Bold Tyler Carlson | Goalies | Mike Poulin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 4 min | Penalties | 4 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 62 | Shots | 53 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Swarm wins series 2–0.
| Award | Winner | Other Finalists |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Lyle Thompson, Georgia | Corey Small, Vancouver Mark Matthews, Saskatchewan |
| Goaltender of the Year | Dillon Ward, Colorado [3] | Mike Poulin, Georgia Nick Rose, Toronto |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Jason Noble, Georgia [4] | Graeme Hossack, Rochester Steve Priolo, Buffalo |
| Transition Player of the Year | Brodie Merrill, Toronto [5] | Jay Thorimbert, New England Jordan MacIntosh, Georgia |
| Rookie of the Year | Tom Schreiber, Toronto [6] | Kyle Jackson, Rochester Latrell Harris, Toronto |
| Sportsmanship Award | Jordan Hall, Georgia [6] | Kyle Buchanan, New England Dan MacRae, Calgary |
| GM of the Year | John Arlotta, Georgia | Jamie Dawick, Toronto Derek Keenan, Saskatchewan |
| Les Bartley Award | Ed Comeau, Georgia | Derek Keenan, Saskatchewan Jamie Batley, Vancouver |
| Executive of the Year Award | Amber Cox, New England | Andy Arlotta, Georgia John Catalano, Rochester |
| Teammate of the Year Award | Mike Poulin, Georgia [7] | Kyle Buchanan, New England Joel McCready, Vancouver |
| Tom Borrelli Award | Jake Elliott | Budd Bailey Neil Stevens |
Reference [8]
| Buffalo Bandits | Georgia Swarm | New England Black Wolves | Rochester Knighthawks | Toronto Rock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KeyBank Center | Infinite Energy Arena | Mohegan Sun Arena | Blue Cross Arena | Air Canada Centre |
| Capacity: 19,070 | Capacity: 11,355 | Capacity: 7,700 | Capacity: 11,200 | Capacity: 18,819 |
| | | | | |
| Calgary Roughnecks | Colorado Mammoth | Saskatchewan Rush | Vancouver Stealth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotiabank Saddledome | Pepsi Center | SaskTel Centre | Langley Events Centre |
| Capacity: 19,289 | Capacity: 18,007 | Capacity: 15,190 | Capacity: 5,276 |
| | | | |
| Home team | Home games | Average attendance | Total attendance [9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bandits | 9 | 15,148 | 136,340 |
| Saskatchewan Rush | 9 | 14,921 | 134,289 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 9 | 14,458 | 130,128 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 9 | 11,622 | 104,599 |
| Toronto Rock | 9 | 9,623 | 86,613 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 9 | 6,755 | 60,798 |
| New England Black Wolves | 9 | 5,402 | 48,626 |
| Georgia Swarm | 9 | 3,950 | 35,558 |
| Vancouver Stealth | 9 | 3,206 | 28,860 |
| League | 81 | 9,454 | 765,811 |
| Home team | Home games | Average attendance | Total attendance [10] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saskatchewan Rush | 2 | 14,158 | 28,316 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 1 | 11,012 | 11,012 |
| Georgia Swarm | 2 | 7,012 | 14,024 |
| Toronto Rock | 2 | 6,794 | 13,589 |
| Vancouver Stealth | 1 | 4,011 | 4,011 |
| League | 8 | 8,869 | 70,952 |