The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. Headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, the NLL currently has thirteen teams: eight in the United States and five in Canada. The NLL ranks third in average attendance for pro indoor sports worldwide, behind only the NHL and NBA. Unlike other box lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring, from December to June. Each year, the playoff teams battle for the National Lacrosse League Cup. The NLL has averaged between 8,900 and 10,700 spectators per game each year since 2004.
The Calgary Roughnecks are a professional box lacrosse team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Western Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and play their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The team name is derived from the roughnecks who work drilling rigs in Alberta's oil and gas industry. The team is affectionately known by fans as the Riggers.
Gary Charles Gait is a Canadian retired professional lacrosse player and currently the head coach of the women's lacrosse team at Syracuse University, where he played the sport collegiately. On January 24, 2017, he was named the Interim Commissioner of the United Women's Lacrosse League.
John Christopher Grant Jr. is a professional lacrosse player who has played in Major League Lacrosse, the National Lacrosse League, and the Ontario Lacrosse Association. He currently serves a player-coach for the Denver Outlaws of Major League Lacrosse.
Shawn Williams is a retired Canadian lacrosse player who played for the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League and formerly of the Hamilton Nationals of Major League Lacrosse. He is now an assistant coach with the Colorado Mammoth
Brian Langtry is a former lacrosse player for the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League and the Denver Outlaws of Major League Lacrosse. Langtry was born in Massapequa, NY, and played NCAA lacrosse for Hofstra University.
Ian Llord is a professional lacrosse player who plays for the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League and the Six Nations Chiefs of Major Series Lacrosse.
Dan Carey General Manager and Vice-President of Lacrosse Operations of the Rochester Knighthawks Franchise. Former General Manager of the Colorado Mammoth and former professional lacrosse player. Carey played six seasons in the National Lacrosse League for both the Colorado Mammoth and the Toronto Rock. Carey was selected in the first round by the Mammoth in the 2005 NLL Entry Draft after playing one season at Canisius College. Carey played three full seasons and part of a fourth before a concussion during a Major Series Lacrosse game forced him to miss part of the 2009 and all of the 2010 NLL seasons. Carey returned to the Mammoth during the 2011 season, scoring 13 goals and 22 assists in 12 games.
Curtis Palidwor is a former goaltender for the Calgary Roughnecks in the National Lacrosse League. In 2004 he was named MVP of the NLL's Champions Cup game, backstopping the Roughnecks to a 14-11 victory over the Buffalo Bandits.
Macdonald Allen is a lacrosse player for the Colorado Mammoth in the National Lacrosse League and formerly of the Hamilton Nationals of Major League Lacrosse. Allen was a member of the Edmonton Rush from 2007 to 2008 and the Rochester Knighthawks from 2009 to 2010. He was traded along with superstar John Grant, Jr. to Colorado for goaltender Matt Vinc.
Ryan Benesch is a Canadian professional lacrosse player who plays for the Halifax Thunderbirds in the National Lacrosse League. Benesch has also played for the Colorado Mammoth, Buffalo Bandits, Minnesota Swarm, Edmonton Rush, and Toronto Rock, and was the 2011 NLL scoring leader. Benesch was born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
The 2008 National Lacrosse League season, the 22nd in the history of the NLL, began on December 29, 2007 and concluded with the Buffalo Bandits winning the championship game over the Portland LumberJax on May 17, 2008.
Matt Vinc, is a Canadian professional lacrosse goaltender in the National Lacrosse League, currently playing for the Buffalo Bandits and for the Peterborough Lakers of the Major Series Lacrosse.
Jamie Batley is a lacrosse coach who is currently the head coach of the Vancouver Stealth in the National Lacrosse League. He has coached several teams in the NLL and the Major Series Lacrosse. Batley is also a former player, who played with the Buffalo Bandits, Syracuse Smash, and Pittsburgh CrosseFire.
The 2013 National Lacrosse League season, the 27th in the history of the NLL, began on January 5, 2013 and ended with the Championship game on May 11, 2013. The Rochester Knighthawks overcame a mediocre 8-8 season to get hot in the playoffs for the second straight year, defeating the Philadelphia Wings, Minnesota Swarm, and Washington Stealth to win their second straight Championship. The Knighthawks became the first team to repeat as NLL Champions since the 2002-2003 Toronto Rock.
Adam Jones is a professional Canadian lacrosse player who plays for the Toronto Rock in the National Lacrosse League. Jones is also a member of Owen Sound Northstars in the Ontario Senior B lacrosse league and the Langley Thunder in the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA). In 2013 he was named the sixteenth best indoor lacrosse player in the world by Ilindoor magazine.
Davide DiRuscio is a professional lacrosse player for the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League. Undrafted, DiRuscio signed with the Bandits for the 2015 NLL season. Outside of the NLL, DiRuscio has played for the St. Catharines Saints, Coquitlam Adanacs, Peterborough Lakers, and the Niagara Lock Monsters. With the Lock Monsters in 2014, DiRuscio was named MVP and Top Goaltender of the Canadian Lacrosse League DiRuscio made his NLL debut with the Bandits in relief of Anthony Cosmo on January 31, 2015, and won his first career start on February 28 against the Colorado Mammoth.
Rory Smith is a Canadian professional lacrosse player for the Vancouver Stealth of the National Lacrosse League and the Victoria Shamrocks of Western Lacrosse Association. Smith is known as an enforcer, and has racked up over 1,000 career penalty minutes during his amateur and professional career. His 104 penalty minutes with Orlando in 2010 is the record for most penalty minutes in a single season in NLL history.
Bryce Sweeting is a professional lacrosse player for the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League and the Peterborough Lakers of Major Series Lacrosse. Hailing from Peterborough, Ontario, Sweeting began playing lacrosse when he was six years old. He is a graduate of St. Peter Catholic Secondary School and St. Clair College.
