The 2003 National Lacrosse League season is the 17th season in the NLL that began on December 27, 2002, and concluded with the championship game on May 3, 2003.
In 2003, the NLL became the first major men's sports league in North America to feature a woman playing in a regular-season game. Ginny Capicchioni, a stand-out goaltender at Sacred Heart University, was signed by the New Jersey Storm as their third-string goaltender. She dressed for three games, though only played in one. Capicchioni collected one loose ball and made six saves while allowing 7 goals in 11 minutes of play.
Team movement 2003 saw the Montreal Express suspend operations, and also saw the Washington Power move to Colorado, where even they were unprepared for the warm welcome they received in Denver. The franchise had drawn small crowds in Washington as well as in Pittsburgh and Baltimore before that, but averaged more than 16,000 fans per game in 2003, second in the league only to Toronto.
Teams 2003 National Lacrosse League Division Team City Arena Capacity Central 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 Rochester Knighthawks Rochester, New York Blue Cross Arena 10,662 East Colorado Mammoth Denver, Colorado Pepsi Center 18,007 New Jersey Storm East Rutherford, New Jersey Izod Center 19,040 New York Saints Uniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 16,234 Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia, Pennsylvania First Union Center 19,519 North Calgary Roughnecks Calgary, Alberta Pengrowth Saddledome 19,289 Ottawa Rebel Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa Civic Centre 10,550 Toronto Rock Toronto, Ontario Air Canada Centre 18,800 Vancouver Ravens Vancouver, British Columbia General Motors Place 18,514
Map of teams
Milestones January 31: John Tavares became the 3rd player in NLL history (after Gary and Paul Gait) with 400 career goals, scoring 5 and adding 6 assists as the Buffalo Bandits defeated the Columbus Landsharks 19–16
Final standings
Regular season
Playoffs
Semifinals Colorado 11 @ Toronto 15 Buffalo 13 @ Rochester 16
Championship Toronto 8 @ Rochester 6
All Star Game No NLL All-Star game was held in 2003.
Awards
AwardWinnerTeamMVP AwardGary GaitColoradoRookie of the Year AwardBrian LangtryColoradoCoach of the YearDarris KilgourBuffaloGM of the Year AwardKurt SilcottBuffaloExecutive of the Year AwardBrad BanisterCalgaryDefensive Player of the Year AwardJim MossAlbanyGoaltender of the Year AwardPat O'TooleRochesterSportsmanship AwardChris DriscollNew York / TorontoChampionship Game MVPBob WatsonToronto
Weekly awards The NLL gives out awards weekly for the best overall player, best offensive player, best defensive player, and best rookie.
Week Overall Offensive Defensive Rookie 1 Bill Greer Tracey Kelusky Matt Roik Patrick Merrill 2 Erik Miller Steve Toll Erik Miller Cam Sedgwick 3 Jason Clark Jason Clark Pat Campbell Chris Schiller 4 Steve Dietrich Pat Maddalena Bill Greer Tom Montour 5 Dallas Eliuk Blaine Manning Dallas Eliuk Aaron Wilson 6 John Tavares Del Halladay Curtis Palidwor Aaron Wilson 7 Chris Driscoll Chris Driscoll Curtis Palidwor Nick Polanco 8 Bill Greer Colin Doyle Pat O'Toole Lewis Ratcliff 9 Jim Veltman Tom Marechek Jim Veltman Aaron Wilson 10 Gary Gait Shawn Williams Gee Nash Travis Gillespie 11 Jeff Ratcliffe Jeff Ratcliffe Kyle Couling Brian Tower 12 Gary Gait Derek Malawsky Dwight Maetche Marc Morley 13 Gary Gait Curt Malawsky Gee Nash Brian Langtry 14 Tracey Kelusky John Grant, Jr. Pat O'Toole Brian Langtry 15 Pat Maddalena Mike Accursi Brian Beisel Brian Lantry 16 Erik Miller Pat Maddalena Erik Miller Marc Morley
Monthly awards Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
Month Overall Rookie Jan Pat MaddalenaJohn Tavares (tie) Cam Sedgwick Feb Chris Driscoll Aaron Wilson Mar Gary Gait Brian Langtry
Statistics leaders Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records. StatPlayerTeamNumberGoalsGary GaitColorado61AssistsJohn TavaresBuffalo58PointsJohn TavaresBuffalo107Penalty MinutesCasey ZaphRochester59Loose BallsJim VeltmanToronto207Save PctPat O'TooleRochester78.3
Attendance Regular season + Home team Home games Average attendance Total attendanceToronto Rock816,733133,867Colorado Mammoth 816,488131,907Philadelphia Wings814,021112,168Calgary Roughnecks 8 11,44691,567Rochester Knighthawks88,98471,870Vancouver Ravens88,33766,699Buffalo Bandits 87,00256,015New Jersey Storm 85,48443,874New York Saints 84,26034,079Ottawa Rebel 84,20233,619Albany Attack83,68925,103Columbus Landsharks83,13825,103League968,603825,871
Playoffs + Home team Home games Average attendance Total attendanceColorado Mammoth 117,129 17,129 Toronto Rock116,733 16,733 Rochester Knighthawks29,94319,885Buffalo Bandits16,761 6,761 League512,10260,508
See also 2003 in sports
References
External links