Before the 1998 season, the Major Indoor Lacrosse League was renamed to be the National Lacrosse League, in the process increasing the length of the regular season from ten to twelve games. The first season as the NLL and the 12th season overall, began on January 3, 1998, and concluded with the second championship game on April 28. The championship was decided by a best-two-of-three series, with the Philadelphia Wings defeating the Baltimore Thunder 16–12 in the first game and 17–12 in the second.
Team movement The 1998 season featured the debut of two new teams, and the removal of one. The Boston Blazers folded after nine seasons in Boston and New England, while the Ontario Raiders and Syracuse Smash began play.
Teams 1998 National Lacrosse League Team City Arena Capacity Baltimore Thunder Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Arena 10,582 Buffalo Bandits Buffalo, New York Marine Midland Arena 18,595 New York Saints Uniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 16,297 Ontario Raiders Hamilton, Ontario Copps Coliseum 17,383 Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CoreStates Center 19,511 Rochester Knighthawks Rochester, New York Rochester Community War Memorial 10,662 Syracuse Smash Syracuse, New York Onondaga County War Memorial 5,800
Map of teams
Regular season
All Star Game No All-Star Game was played in 1998.
Playoffs
Game 1: Baltimore 12 @ Philadelphia 16 Game 2: Philadelphia 17 @ Baltimore 12
Awards
AwardWinnerTeamMVP AwardGary GaitBaltimoreRookie of the Year AwardColin DoyleOntarioChampionship Game MVP (Series)Dallas EliukPhiladelphiaChampionship Game MVP (Game 1)Dallas EliukPhiladelphiaChampionship Game MVP (Game 2)Bill MillerPhiladelphia
Weekly awards Each week, a player is awarded "Player of the Week" honours.
Week Player of the Week 1 Gary Gait 2 Andy Piazza 3 Derek Collins 4 Chris Gill 5 Eric Seremet 6 Tom Marechek 7 Gary Gait 8 Darris Kilgour 9 Derek General 10 Russ Heard 11 Colin Doyle 12 Steve Sombrotto 13 Mark Millon 14 John Tavares 15 Bob Watson
Monthly awards Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie. The 1998 season was the first season that the Rookie of the Month award was given out.
Month Overall Rookie Jan Gary Gait Curt Malawsky Feb Darris Kilgour Jake Bergey Mar Mark Millon Colin Doyle
Statistics leaders Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records. StatPlayerTeamNumberGoalsGary GaitBaltimore57AssistsJim VeltmanOntario40PointsGary GaitBaltimore85Penalty MinutesPat CoyleOntario48Shots on GoalGary GaitBaltimore156Loose BallsJim VeltmanOntario194Save PctSteve DietrichRochester77.9
Attendance Regular season + Home team Home games Average attendance Total attendancePhiladelphia Wings614,19785,182Buffalo Bandits 612,25673,534New York Saints 66,72540,349Rochester Knighthawks66,70640,234Baltimore Thunder 65,37832,269Ontario Thunder64,81028,862Syracuse Smash64,23025,378League427,757325,808
Playoffs + Home team Home games Average attendance Total attendancePhiladelphia Wings 29,28819,655Baltimore Thunder23,2826,564League46,55526,219
See also 1998 in sports
References 1998 Archive at the Outsider's Guide to the NLL (via the Internet Archive)