# 2001 NLL season

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 |

## Regular season

Reference:
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | Toronto Rock – xyz | 14 | 11 | 3 | .786 | 0.0 | 6–1 | 5–2 | 168 | 125 | +43 | 12.00 | 8.93 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Wings – x | 14 | 10 | 4 | .714 | 1.0 | 6–1 | 4–3 | 205 | 177 | +28 | 14.64 | 12.64 |
| 3 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 14 | 10 | 4 | .714 | 1.0 | 6–1 | 4–3 | 198 | 159 | +39 | 14.14 | 11.36 |
| 4 | Washington Power – x | 14 | 9 | 5 | .643 | 2.0 | 4–3 | 5–2 | 226 | 204 | +22 | 16.14 | 14.57 |
| 5 | Buffalo Bandits | 14 | 8 | 6 | .571 | 3.0 | 4–3 | 4–3 | 248 | 218 | +30 | 17.71 | 15.57 |
| 6 | New York Saints | 14 | 6 | 8 | .429 | 5.0 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 179 | 181 | −2 | 12.79 | 12.93 |
| 7 | Albany Attack | 14 | 5 | 9 | .357 | 6.0 | 3–4 | 2–5 | 152 | 169 | −17 | 10.86 | 12.07 |
| 8 | Columbus Landsharks | 14 | 3 | 11 | .214 | 8.0 | 1–6 | 2–5 | 134 | 201 | −67 | 9.57 | 14.36 |
| 9 | Ottawa Rebel | 14 | 1 | 13 | .071 | 10.0 | 0–7 | 1–6 | 144 | 220 | −76 | 10.29 | 15.71 |
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

## All Star Game

No All-Star game was held in 2001.

## Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Championship | Championship | Championship |
| 3 | Rochester | 11 | | | |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 12 | | | |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 12 | 2 | Philadelphia | 9 |
| | | | 1 | Toronto | 8 |
| 4 | Washington | 9 | 1 | Toronto | 8 |
| 1 | Toronto | 10 | | | |

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Team |
| MVP Award | John Tavares | Buffalo |
| Rookie of the Year Award | Tracey Kelusky | Columbus |
| Coach of the Year | Tony Resch | Philadelphia |
| Executive of the Year Award | Russ Cline | Philadelphia |
| Goaltender of the Year Award | Bob Watson | Toronto |
| Championship Game MVP | Dallas Eliuk | Philadelphia |

### 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 |

## Statistics leaders

Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.
| Stat | Player | Team | Number |
| Goals | Roy Colsey | New York | 51 |
| Assists | John Tavares | Buffalo | 64 |
| Points | John Tavares | Buffalo | 115 |
| Penalty Minutes | Pat Coyle | Toronto | 65 |
| Loose Balls | Jim Veltman | Toronto | 161 |
| Save Pct | Pat O'Toole | Rochester | 79.7 |

## Attendance
### Regular Season

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| Toronto Rock | 7 | 15,749 | 110,240 |
| Philadelphia Wings | 7 | 15,174 | 106,215 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 7 | 9,147 | 64,032 |
| Ottawa Rebel | 7 | 8,058 | 56,409 |
| Buffalo Bandits | 7 | 8,041 | 56,289 |
| Columbus Landsharks | 7 | 6,559 | 45,912 |
| New York Saints | 7 | 5,918 | 41,426 |
| Albany Attack | 7 | 4,255 | 29,782 |
| Washington Power | 7 | 3,341 | 23,386 |
| League | 63 | 8,471 | 533,691 |

### Playoffs

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| Toronto Rock | 2 | 16,926 | 33,851 |
| Philadelphia Wings | 1 | 10,259 | 10,259 |
| League | 3 | 14,703 | 44,110 |