# 2000 NLL season

The 2000 National Lacrosse League season is the 14th season in the NLL that began on January 7, 2000, and concluded with the championship game on May 6, 2000. The Toronto Rock defeated the Rochester Knighthawks 14–13. Kaleb Toth scored the winning goal with less than two seconds left in regulation to give the Rock their second straight championship.

## Team movement

One expansion team was added to the NLL for the 2000 season, the Albany Attack. In addition, the Baltimore Thunder left Baltimore and became the Pittsburgh CrosseFire, though the franchise would only last a single season in Pittsburgh before moving to Washington.

### Teams

2000 National Lacrosse League :
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Albany Attack | Albany, New York | Pepsi Arena | 14,236 |
| Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | Marine Midland Arena | 18,595 |
| New York Saints | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 16,297 |
| Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | First Union Center | 19,519 |
| Pittsburgh CrosseFire | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Civic Arena | 16,958 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Blue Cross Arena | 10,662 |
| Syracuse Smash | Syracuse, New York | Oncenter War Memorial Arena | 5,800 |
| Toronto Rock | Toronto, Ontario | Maple Leaf Gardens | 15,726 |

## Regular season

Reference:
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | Toronto Rock – xyz | 12 | 9 | 3 | .750 | 0.0 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 162 | 130 | +32 | 13.50 | 10.83 |
| 2 | Buffalo Bandits – x | 12 | 8 | 4 | .667 | 1.0 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 202 | 194 | +8 | 16.83 | 16.17 |
| 3 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 12 | 8 | 4 | .667 | 1.0 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 187 | 149 | +38 | 15.58 | 12.42 |
| 4 | Philadelphia Wings – x | 12 | 7 | 5 | .583 | 2.0 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 172 | 165 | +7 | 14.33 | 13.75 |
| 5 | Albany Attack | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | 3.0 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 169 | 160 | +9 | 14.08 | 13.33 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh CrosseFire | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | 3.0 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 184 | 164 | +20 | 15.33 | 13.67 |
| 7 | New York Saints | 12 | 3 | 9 | .250 | 6.0 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 152 | 194 | −42 | 12.67 | 16.17 |
| 8 | Syracuse Smash | 12 | 1 | 11 | .083 | 8.0 | 1–5 | 0–6 | 135 | 207 | −72 | 11.25 | 17.25 |
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 2000.

## Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Championship | Championship | Championship |
| 3 | Rochester | 15 | | | |
| 2 | Buffalo | 11 | | | |
| 2 | Buffalo | 11 | 3 | Rochester | 13 |
| | | | 1 | Toronto | 14 |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 10 | 1 | Toronto | 14 |
| 1 | Toronto | 14 | | | |

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Team |
| MVP Award | John Tavares | Buffalo |
| Rookie of the Year Award | John Grant Jr. | Rochester |
| Championship Game MVP | Dan Stroup | Toronto |

### Weekly awards

Each week, a player is awarded "Player of the Week" honours.
| Week | Player of the Week |
| 1 | Kim Squire |
| 2 | Josh Sanderson |
| 3 | Kip Fulks |
| 4 | Tom Marechek |
| 5 | Pat O'Toole |
| 6 | Roy Colsey |
| 7 | Matt Disher |
| 8 | Paul Gait |
| 9 | Kaleb Toth |
| 10 | Rob Blasdell |
| 11 | John Grant Jr. |
| 12 | Colin Doyle |
| 13 | John Grant, Jr. |
| 14 | Mark Millon |
| 15 | Mark Shepherd |

### Monthly awards

Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
| Month | Overall | Rookie |
| Jan | Ted Dowling | John Grant, Jr. |
| Feb | John Tavares | Devin Dalep |
| Mar | Rob Blasdell | John Grant, Jr. |

## Statistics leaders

Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.
| Stat | Player | Team | Number |
| Goals | Ted Dowling | Albany | 41 |
| | Tom Marechek | Philadelphia | 41 |
| Assists | John Tavares | Buffalo | 49 |
| Points | Gary Gait | Baltimore | 83 |
| | John Tavares | Buffalo | 83 |
| Loose balls | Jim Veltman | Toronto | 167 |
| Save pct | Bob Watson | Toronto | 77.2 |

## Attendance
### Regular Season

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| Philadelphia Wings | 6 | 15,857 | 95,143 |
| Toronto Rock | 6 | 13,881 | 83,287 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 6 | 8,910 | 53,458 |
| Buffalo Bandits | 6 | 8,186 | 49,116 |
| Albany Attack | 6 | 5,749 | 34,492 |
| New York Saints | 6 | 5,674 | 34,046 |
| Pittsburgh CrosseFire | 6 | 4,916 | 29,495 |
| Syracuse Smash | 6 | 2,660 | 15,957 |
| League | 48 | 8,229 | 394,994 |

### Playoffs

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| Toronto Rock | 2 | 12,386 | 24,772 |
| Buffalo Bandits | 1 | 7,873 | 7,873 |
| League | 3 | 10,882 | 32,645 |