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.
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.
Teams 2001 National Lacrosse League Team City Arena Capacity 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
Map of teams
Regular season
Statistics leaders
Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; LB = Loose Balls The following players lead the league in regular season points at the conclusion of games played on April 14, 2001.
Player Team Buffalo Bandits 14 51 64 115 14 159 Washington Power 14 43 47 90 10 82 Rochester Knighthawks 14 42 48 90 18 124 Philadelphia Wings 14 43 43 86 2 90 Philadelphia Wings 13 48 31 79 14 62 Buffalo Bandits 14 46 31 77 0 100 New York Saints 14 51 25 76 52 92 Buffalo Bandits 12 23 47 70 12 81 Rochester Knighthawks 14 24 42 66 14 69 Philadelphia Wings 14 23 39 62 11 54
Leading goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: GA = Goals Allowed; SV% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals against average
The following goaltenders lead the league at the conclusion regular season on April 14, 2001. Player Team Toronto Rock 14 10 2 106 .796 8.90 Rochester Knighthawks 13 8 2 98 .796 10.59 Philadelphia Wings 14 8 2 149 .771 11.97 Albany Attack 13 5 8 151 .758 12.16 New York Saints 14 6 6 168 .772 12.46
All Star Game No All-Star game was held in 2001.
Playoffs
Awards
AwardWinnerTeamMVP AwardJohn TavaresBuffaloRookie of the Year AwardTracey KeluskyColumbusCoach of the YearTony ReschPhiladelphiaExecutive of the Year AwardRuss ClinePhiladelphiaGoaltender of the Year AwardBob WatsonTorontoChampionship Game MVPDallas EliukPhiladelphia
Weekly awards Each week, a player is awarded "Player of the Week" honours.
Week Player of the Week 1 no award given 2 John Grant Jr. 3 John Tavares 4 Roy Colsey 5 Derek Malawsky 6 Steve Toll 7 Jake Bergey 8 Devin Dalep 9 Pat O'Toole 10 Gee Nash 11 Tracey Kelusky 12 Kim Squire 13 Kevin Finneran 14 Pat O'Toole 15 Matt Shearer 16 Roy Colsey 17 Dallas Eliuk
Monthly awards Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
Month Overall Rookie Jan Derek Malawsky Tracey Kelusky Feb John Tavares Kris Bryde Mar Gary Gait Tracey Kelusky
Attendance Regular season + Home team Home games Average attendance Total attendanceToronto Rock715,749110,240Philadelphia Wings715,174106,215Rochester Knighthawks79,14764,032Ottawa Rebel 78,05856,409Buffalo Bandits 78,04156,289Columbus Landsharks76,55945,912New York Saints 75,91841,426Albany Attack74,25529,782Washington Power73,34123,386League638,471533,691
Playoffs + Home team Home games Average attendance Total attendanceToronto Rock 216,92633,851Philadelphia Wings110,259 10,259 League314,70344,110
See also 2001 in sports
References
External links