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.
2013 featured a very close regular season, as the top and bottom teams were only separated by 4 games (the 10-6 Toronto Rock vs. 6-10 Buffalo Bandits). The final playoff spot was up for grabs right up until the final weekend of the season. In the end, the Bandits were the lone team out of the playoffs, missed the post-season for the first time since 2002.
Teams 2013 National Lacrosse League Division Team City Arena Capacity East Buffalo Bandits Buffalo, New York First Niagara Center 19,070 Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wachovia Center 19,537 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 Edmonton Rush Edmonton, Alberta Rexall Place 16,839 Minnesota Swarm Saint Paul, Minnesota XCEL Energy Center 18,064 Washington Stealth Everett, Washington Comcast Arena at Everett 8,513
Map of teams
Final standings
Statistical 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 May 11, 2013.
Player Team Calgary Roughnecks 16 32 80 112 25 69 Toronto Rock 16 30 70 100 4 66 Washington Stealth 16 45 51 96 6 62 Minnesota Swarm 14 32 63 95 2 55 Colorado Mammoth 16 43 48 91 22 42 Rochester Knighthawks 16 28 61 89 25 56 Toronto Rock 15 26 58 84 13 41 Minnesota Swarm 16 34 50 84 14 59 Edmonton Rush 16 21 54 75 6 29 Rochester Knighthawks 16 23 52 75 4 67
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 May 11, 2013. Player Team Rochester Knighthawks 16 8 8 162 .803 10.17 Edmonton Rush 16 8 5 151 .744 10.56 Toronto Rock 16 10 5 160 .791 10.61 Colorado Mammoth 9 5 2 74 .776 10.77 Washington Stealth 15 8 5 149 .795 10.92
Playoffs
•Final played at Langley Events Centre due to arena conflict in Washington.
NOTE: In 2013, the NLL added a crossover rule to the playoff format:
"Eight teams shall earn playoff berths. There is also a crossover allowed which will allow the 5th place team in the West Division to take the place of the 4th place team in the East Division if the 5th place team has a better record. Each division champion faces the fourth place finisher from their division (or the crossover team should that team qualify for the playoffs). The second place finisher in each division faces the third place finisher from their division in the Division Semifinals. Each game is hosted by the higher-seeded team."
With a record of 7-9, the Minnesota Swarm was the 5th place West Division team. With a record of 6-10, the Buffalo Bandits were the 4th place East Division team. Since Minnesota had a better record than Buffalo, the crossover rule went into effect with Minnesota replacing Buffalo and playing as the 4th place team in the East Division playoffs.
Division semifinals
East Division
(E1) Toronto Rock vs. (W5) Minnesota Swarm
(E2) Rochester Knighthawks vs. (E3) Philadelphia Wings
West Division
(W1) Calgary Roughnecks vs. (W4) Colorado Mammoth
(W2) Washington Stealth vs. (W3) Edmonton Rush
Division Finals
(E2) Rochester Knighthawks vs. (W5) Minnesota Swarm
(W1) Calgary Roughnecks vs. (W2) Washington Stealth
NLL Finals
(W2) Washington Stealth vs. (E2) Rochester Knighthawks
Milestones and events
Pre-season August 13, 2012: The league announced that the 2012 entry draft would be held in Toronto on October 1. There would also be a player combine the day before the draft at the new Toronto Rock practice facility in Oakville, Ontario. October 2, 2012: Former NLL goaltender and current Buffalo Bandits GM Steve Dietrich was inducted into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Toronto. December 8, 2012: The Calgary Roughnecks defeated the Colorado Mammoth 20-11 in a pre-season game at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, British Columbia. This was the second pre-season game at the LEC, as the Toronto Rock and Washington Stealth played there in 2012. December 14, 2012: The National Lacrosse League returned to Montreal as the Toronto Rock defeated the Rochester Knighthawks 14-10 at the Bell Centre in front of 7,269 fans. December 14, 2012: In a blockbuster trade, NLL superstar Dan Dawson was traded to the Rochester Knighthawks along with his brother Paul Dawson and a first-round draft pick in 2016 for Paul Rabil, Jordan Hall, Joel White, Robbie Campbell, and a second round draft pick in 2014. December 20, 2012: Kaleb Toth, the longest-serving member of the Calgary Roughnecks, announced his retirement from the NLL.
Regular season January 22, 2013: Buffalo Bandits forward Shawn Williams continued his record-setting consecutive game streak, playing in his 200th consecutive NLL game. February 15, 2013: The rare "sock-trick" was accomplished twice on the same night, as Edmonton Rush rookie Mark Matthews and Toronto Rock forward Garrett Billings scored six goals each to lead their teams to victory. February 25, 2013: Minnesota Swarm captain Andrew Suitor suffered a knee injury in a game against the Edmonton Rush, ending his 2013 season. March 12, 2013: Former league MVP Casey Powell was traded by the Rochester Knighthawks to the Colorado Mammoth in exchange for Jon Sullivan and a 3rd round draft pick in 2014. March 14, 2013: Buffalo Bandits GM and retired goaltender Steve Dietrich traded a 6th round draft pick to the Toronto Rock for his own playing rights. March 15, 2013: The league announced that the regular season schedule would be expanded to 18 games for the 2014 NLL season. The league had been playing a 16-game schedule since 2002.
Playoffs May 11, 2013: Despite having earned the right to host the Championship game, the Washington Stealth were forced to play the game in a neutral site arena because of schedule conflicts with Comcast Arena. The game was played at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, British Columbia.
Awards AwardWinnerTeam Most Valuable Player Shawn Evans Calgary Roughnecks Goaltender of the Year Matt Vinc Rochester Knighthawks Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Rubisch Edmonton Rush Transition Player of the Year Jordan MacIntosh Minnesota Swarm Rookie of the Year Mark Matthews Edmonton Rush Sportsmanship Award Garrett Billings Toronto Rock GM of the Year Doug Locker Washington Stealth Les Bartley Award Troy Cordingley Toronto Rock Executive of the Year Award Jamie Dawick Toronto Rock Tom Borrelli Award Stephen Stamp ILIndoor.com
All-Rookie team Joey Cupido, Colorado Shayne Jackson, Minnesota Curtis Knight, Edmonton Mark Matthews, Edmonton Kiel Matisz, Minnesota Joe Resetarits, Calgary Dhane Smith, Buffalo
All-Pro teams First team Garrett Billings, Toronto Rhys Duch, Washington Shawn Evans, Calgary Jordan MacIntosh, Minnesota Kyle Rubisch, Edmonton Matt Vinc, Rochester
Second team Callum Crawford, Minnesota Curtis Dickson, Calgary John Grant, Jr., Colorado Jesse Gamble, Toronto Mike Grimes, Washington Brandon Miller, Philadelphia
Weekly awards The NLL gives out awards weekly for the best offensive player, best transition player, best defensive player, and best rookie.
Month Week Offensive Defensive Transition Rookie January 1 Cliff Smith Matt Vinc Mitch McMichael Kyle Buchanan 2 Cliff Smith Nick Rose Brodie Merrill Curtis Knight 3 John Grant, Jr. Brandon Miller Brodie Merrill Mark Matthews 4 Shawn Evans Mike Poulin Geoff Snider Kiel Matisz February 5 John Grant, Jr. Matt Vinc Geoff Snider Shayne Jackson 6 Cody Jamieson Tyler Richards Tyler Hass Mitch McMichael 7 Mark Matthews Anthony Cosmo Jeremy Thompson Kiel Matisz 8 Rhys Duch Brandon Miller Jordan MacIntosh Kiel Matisz March 9 Ryan Ward Kyle Rubisch Jay Thorimbert Mark Matthews 10 Dane Dobbie Tyler Richards Jesse Gamble Tye Belanger 11 Callum Crawford Tyler Carlson Jordan MacIntosh Kyle Belton 12 Corey Small Aaron Bold Alex Kedoh Hill Curtis Knight 13 Callum Crawford Matt Vinc Jordan MacIntosh Kiel Matisz April 14 Callum Crawford Tye Belanger Jordan MacIntosh Shayne Jackson 15 Dan Dawson Brandon Miller Jordan MacIntosh Jordan Critch 16 Shawn Evans Mike Grimes Jordan MacIntosh Dhane Smith
Monthly awards Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
Month Overall Rookie January Shawn Evans Mark Matthews February Garrett Billings Mark Matthews March Colin Doyle Mark Matthews April Callum Crawford Kiel Matisz
Attendance Regular season + Home team Home games Average attendance Total attendanceBuffalo Bandits 815,620124,960Colorado Mammoth 813,731109,853Toronto Rock810,72985,835Calgary Roughnecks 8 10,21581,724Minnesota Swarm88,74169,930Philadelphia Wings87,64761,178Rochester Knighthawks87,35358,829Edmonton Rush86,71353,708Washington Stealth 84,18433,475League729,437679,492
Playoffs + Home team Home games Average attendance Total attendanceCalgary Roughnecks 29,15418,309Toronto Rock19,0669,066Rochester Knighthawks25,52811,056Washington Stealth24,1118,222League76,66446,653
See also 2013 in sports
References