The 2016 National Lacrosse League season, the 30th in the history of the NLL,[1] began on January 1, 2016,[2] and ended with the Champion's Cup Finals series on June 4, 2016. The Saskatchewan Rush won their 2nd straight title; their first while located in Saskatchewan.
| 2016 NLL season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | National Lacrosse League |
| Sport | Indoor lacrosse |
| Duration | January 1 – June 4, 2016 |
| Number of games | 18 |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Regular Season | |
| Top seed | Buffalo Bandits |
| Season MVP |  Dhane Smith |
| Top scorer | Dhane Smith |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Buffalo Bandits |
| Eastern runners-up | New England Black Wolves |
| Western champions | Saskatchewan Rush |
| Western runners-up | Calgary Roughnecks |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Saskatchewan Rush |
| Runners-up | Buffalo Bandits |
| Finals MVP | Aaron Bold |
Milestones and events
editPre-season
edit- May 29, 2015: The Minnesota Swarm announce that they would move to the Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia as the Georgia Swarm.[3]
- July 20, 2015: The Edmonton Rush announce that they would move to the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan as the Saskatchewan Rush.[4]
- September 2, 2015: Buffalo Bandits forward John Tavares announced his retirement after 24 seasons. Tavares is the career leader in goals, assists, points, and games played. He will remain with the Bandits organization as an assistant coach.[5]
Teams
edit
| 2016 National Lacrosse League | |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | First Niagara 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 | ||
Standings
editReference: [6]
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo Bandits – xyz | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 0.0 | 8–1 | 5–4 | 251 | 214 | +37 | 13.94 | 11.89 |
| 2 | New England Black Wolves – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 3.0 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 229 | 212 | +17 | 12.72 | 11.78 |
| 3 | Georgia Swarm – x | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 5.0 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 238 | 240 | −2 | 13.22 | 13.33 |
| 4 | Rochester Knighthawks | 18 | 7 | 11 | .389 | 6.0 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 200 | 215 | −15 | 11.11 | 11.94 |
| 5 | Toronto Rock | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 8.0 | 4–5 | 1–8 | 190 | 224 | −34 | 10.56 | 12.44 |
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saskatchewan Rush – xy | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 0.0 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 233 | 190 | +43 | 12.94 | 10.56 |
| 2 | Colorado Mammoth – x | 18 | 12 | 6 | .667 | 1.0 | 8–1 | 4–5 | 203 | 202 | +1 | 11.28 | 11.22 |
| 3 | Calgary Roughnecks – x | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 5.0 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 216 | 216 | −-0 | 12.00 | 12.00 |
| 4 | Vancouver Stealth | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 8.0 | 4–5 | 1–8 | 198 | 245 | −47 | 11.00 | 13.61 |
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
Playoffs
edit| Division semifinals | Division finals (3-game series) | Finals (3-game series) | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Buffalo | 2 | ||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | New England | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | New England | 14* | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Georgia | 13 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Saskatchewan | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Buffalo | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Saskatchewan | 2 | ||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||
| W3 | Calgary | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Colorado | 10 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Calgary | 11* | ||||||||||||
*Overtime
Awards
editAnnual awards
edit| Award | Winner | Other Finalists |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Dhane Smith, Buffalo | Shawn Evans, New England Mark Matthews, Saskatchewan[7] |
| Goaltender of the Year | Evan Kirk, New England | Nick Rose, Toronto Dillon Ward, Colorado[8] |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Ryan Dilks, Saskatchewan | Chris Corbeil, Saskatchewan Steve Priolo, Buffalo[9] |
| Transition Player of the Year | Brad Self, Rochester | Jordan MacIntosh, Georgia Jeremy Thompson, Saskatchewan[10] |
| Rookie of the Year | Randy Staats, Georgia | Wesley Berg, Calgary Jesse King, Georgia[11] |
| Sportsmanship Award | Ben McIntosh, Saskatchewan | Karsen Leung, Calgary Kiel Matisz, Georgia[12] |
| GM of the Year | Steve Dietrich, Buffalo | John Arlotta, Georgia Rich Lisk, New England[13] |
| Les Bartley Award | Glenn Clark, New England | Troy Cordingley, Buffalo Derek Keenan, Saskatchewan[14] |
| Executive of the Year Award | Lee Genier, Saskatchewan | Mike French, New England Scott Loffler, Buffalo[15] |
| Teammate of the Year Award | Mike Poulin, Calgary | Joel McCready, Vancouver Andrew Watt, Buffalo[16] |
| Air Canada Wingman of the Year Award | Callum Crawford, Colorado | Rob Hellyer, Toronto Dhane Smith[17] |
| Tom Borrelli Award | Teddy Jenner, ILIndoor.com[18] |
Monthly awards
editAwards are presented monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
| Month | Overall | Rookie |
|---|---|---|
| January[19] | Dhane Smith- Buffalo Bandits | Randy Staats- Georgia Swarm |
| February[20] | Dhane Smith- Buffalo Bandits | Jesse King- Georgia Swarm |
| March[21] | Dhane Smith- Buffalo Bandits | Wesley Berg- Calgary Roughnecks |
| April[22] | Rob Hellyer- Toronto Rock | Randy Staats- Georgia Swarm |
Stadiums and locations
edit| 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 |
|
|
|
|
Attendance
editRegular Season
edit| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance[23] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bandits | 9 | 15,833 | 142,505 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 9 | 13,832 | 124,489 |
| Saskatchewan Rush | 9 | 11,737 | 105,637 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 9 | 11,471 | 103,246 |
| Toronto Rock | 9 | 9,159 | 82,432 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 9 | 8,164 | 73,483 |
| Georgia Swarm | 9 | 4,667 | 42,010 |
| Vancouver Stealth | 9 | 3,758 | 33,828 |
| New England Black Wolves | 9 | 3,751 | 33,761 |
| League | 81 | 9,152 | 741,391 |
Playoffs
edit| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance[24] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saskatchewan Rush | 2 | 15,187 | 30,374 |
| Buffalo Bandits | 2 | 13,473 | 26,947 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 1 | 13,116 | 13,116 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 1 | 13,116 | 13,116 |
| New England Black Wolves | 2 | 3,481 | 6,963 |
| League | 8 | 11,201 | 89,611 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "NLL announces 30th Anniversary Team countdown". NLL.com. November 13, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ "League announces 2016 NLL regular season schedule". NLL.com. September 27, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ "Swarm Announce Relocation to Metro-Atlanta Area". NLL.com. May 29, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
- ^ "Rush announce relocation to Saskatchewan". NLL.com. July 20, 2015. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ "Bandits legend Tavares retires after 24-year NLL career". NLL.com. September 2, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
- ^ "NLL Standings". NLL.com. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NLL Most Valuable Player award finalists". NLL.com. June 30, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NLL Goaltender of the Year award finalists". NLL.com. June 2, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NLL Defensive Player of the Year award finalists". NLL.com. June 21, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NLL Transition Player of the Year finalists". NLL.com. June 23, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NLL Rookie of the Year finalists". NLL.com. June 29, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NLL Sportsmanship Award finalists". NLL.com. June 20, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NLL GM of the Year finalists". NLL.com. June 28, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NLL Head Coach of the Year finalists". NLL.com. June 27, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NLL Executive of the Year finalists". NLL.com. July 7, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NLL Teammate of the Year finalists". NLL.com. July 5, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NLL Air Canada Wingman of the Year finalists". NLL.com. July 6, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "Teddy Jenner named 2016 NLL Media Person of the year". NLL.com. July 11, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "Bandits' Dhane Smith wins Player of the Month for January". NLL.com. February 5, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
- ^ "Bandits' Smith repeats as NLL Player of the Month". NLL.com. March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
- ^ "Bandits' Smith wins third-straight Player of the Month award". NLL.com. April 1, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
- ^ "Rock's Hellyer wins NLL Player of the Month for April". NLL.com. May 6, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ "National Lacrosse League - attendance | Pointstreak Sports Technologies".
- ^ "National Lacrosse League - attendance | Pointstreak Sports Technologies".