# 2017 NLL season

The 2017 National Lacrosse League season, the 31st in the history of the NLL began on December 29, 2016, and ended with the Champion's Cup Finals series on June 10, 2017, as the Georgia Swarm defeated the Saskatchewan Rush to win their franchise's first Champions Cup.

## Teams

2017 National Lacrosse League :
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| East | Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | KeyBank Center | 19,070 |
| East | Georgia Swarm | Duluth, Georgia | Infinite Energy Arena | 10,500 |
| East | New England Black Wolves | Uncasville, Connecticut | Mohegan Sun Arena | 7,074 |
| East | Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Blue Cross Arena | 10,662 |
| East | Toronto Rock | Toronto, Ontario | Air Canada Centre | 18,800 |
| West | Calgary Roughnecks | Calgary, Alberta | Scotiabank Saddledome | 19,289 |
| West | Colorado Mammoth | Denver, Colorado | Pepsi Center | 18,007 |
| West | Saskatchewan Rush | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | SaskTel Centre | 15,195 |
| West | Vancouver Stealth | Langley, British Columbia | Langley Events Centre | 5,276 |

## Regular Season Standings

Reference:
East Division :
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | Georgia Swarm – xyz | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 0.0 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 266 | 213 | +53 | 14.78 | 11.83 |
| 2 | Toronto Rock – x | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 4.0 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 219 | 200 | +19 | 12.17 | 11.11 |
| 3 | New England Black Wolves – x | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 5.0 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 220 | 244 | −24 | 12.22 | 13.56 |
| 4 | Rochester Knighthawks | 18 | 7 | 11 | .389 | 6.0 | 4–5 | 3–6 | 175 | 209 | −34 | 9.72 | 11.61 |
| 5 | Buffalo Bandits | 18 | 6 | 12 | .333 | 7.0 | 3–6 | 3–6 | 226 | 251 | −25 | 12.56 | 13.94 |
West Division :
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | Saskatchewan Rush – xy | 18 | 12 | 6 | .667 | 0.0 | 8–1 | 4–5 | 231 | 212 | +19 | 12.83 | 11.78 |
| 2 | Vancouver Stealth – x | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 3.0 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 218 | 221 | −3 | 12.11 | 12.28 |
| 3 | Colorado Mammoth – x | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 3.0 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 202 | 199 | +3 | 11.22 | 11.06 |
| 4 | Calgary Roughnecks | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 4.0 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 212 | 220 | −8 | 11.78 | 12.22 |
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

## Playoffs

| Division semifinals | Division semifinals | Division semifinals | Division finals (3-game series) | Division finals (3-game series) | Division finals (3-game series) | Finals (3-game series) | Finals (3-game series) | Finals (3-game series) |
| | | | E1 | Georgia | 2 | | | |
| East Division | East Division | East Division | E1 | Georgia | 2 | | | |
| East Division | East Division | East Division | E2 | Toronto | 0 | | | |
| E2 | Toronto | 18 | E2 | Toronto | 0 | | | |
| E3 | New England | 10 | | | | | | |
| E3 | New England | 10 | | | | E1 | Georgia | 2 |
| | | | | | | W1 | Saskatchewan | 0 |
| | | | W1 | Saskatchewan | 2 | | | |
| West Division | West Division | West Division | W1 | Saskatchewan | 2 | | | |
| West Division | West Division | West Division | W3 | Colorado | 0 | | | |
| W2 | Vancouver | 12 | W3 | Colorado | 0 | | | |
| W3 | Colorado | 13 | | | | | | |
*Overtime

## Awards
### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Other Finalists |
| Most Valuable Player | Lyle Thompson, Georgia | Corey Small, Vancouver Mark Matthews, Saskatchewan |
| Goaltender of the Year | Dillon Ward, Colorado | Mike Poulin, Georgia Nick Rose, Toronto |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Jason Noble, Georgia | Graeme Hossack, Rochester Steve Priolo, Buffalo |
| Transition Player of the Year | Brodie Merrill, Toronto | Jay Thorimbert, New England Jordan MacIntosh, Georgia |
| Rookie of the Year | Tom Schreiber, Toronto | Kyle Jackson, Rochester Latrell Harris, Toronto |
| Sportsmanship Award | Jordan Hall, Georgia | Kyle Buchanan, New England Dan MacRae, Calgary |
| GM of the Year | John Arlotta, Georgia | Jamie Dawick, Toronto Derek Keenan, Saskatchewan |
| Les Bartley Award | Ed Comeau, Georgia | Derek Keenan, Saskatchewan Jamie Batley, Vancouver |
| Executive of the Year Award | Amber Cox, New England | Andy Arlotta, Georgia John Catalano, Rochester |
| Teammate of the Year Award | Mike Poulin, Georgia | Kyle Buchanan, New England Joel McCready, Vancouver |
| Tom Borrelli Award | Jake Elliott | Budd Bailey Neil Stevens |

### All-pro teams

Reference

#### First Team

* Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm
* Mark Matthews, Saskatchewan Rush
* Corey Small, Vancouver Stealth
* Jason Noble, Georgia Swarm
* Brodie Merrill, Toronto Rock
* Dillon Ward, Colorado Mammoth

#### Second Team

* Curtis Dickson, Calgary Roughnecks
* Kevin Crowley, New England Black Wolves
* Shayne Jackson, Georgia Swarm
* Graeme Hossack, Rochester Knighthawks
* Jay Thorimbert, New England Black Wolves
* Mike Poulin, Georgia Swarm

### All-Rookie Team

* Tom Schreiber, Toronto Rock
* Kyle Jackson, Rochester Knighthawks
* Josh Currier, Rochester Knighthawks
* Latrell Harris, Toronto Rock
* Mike Messenger, Saskatchewan Rush
* Joel Coyle, New England Black Wolves

## Stadiums and locations

| Buffalo Bandits | Georgia Swarm | New England Black Wolves | Rochester Knighthawks | Toronto Rock |
| KeyBank Center | Infinite Energy Arena | Mohegan Sun Arena | Blue Cross Arena | Air Canada Centre |
| Capacity: 19,070 | Capacity: 11,355 | Capacity: 7,700 | Capacity: 11,200 | Capacity: 18,819 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | Colorado Mammoth | Saskatchewan Rush | Vancouver Stealth |
| Scotiabank Saddledome | Pepsi Center | SaskTel Centre | Langley Events Centre |
| Capacity: 19,289 | Capacity: 18,007 | Capacity: 15,190 | Capacity: 5,276 |

## Attendance
### Regular Season

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| Buffalo Bandits | 9 | 15,148 | 136,340 |
| Saskatchewan Rush | 9 | 14,921 | 134,289 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 9 | 14,458 | 130,128 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 9 | 11,622 | 104,599 |
| Toronto Rock | 9 | 9,623 | 86,613 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 9 | 6,755 | 60,798 |
| New England Black Wolves | 9 | 5,402 | 48,626 |
| Georgia Swarm | 9 | 3,950 | 35,558 |
| Vancouver Stealth | 9 | 3,206 | 28,860 |
| League | 81 | 9,454 | 765,811 |

### Playoffs

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| Saskatchewan Rush | 2 | 14,158 | 28,316 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 1 | 11,012 | 11,012 |
| Georgia Swarm | 2 | 7,012 | 14,024 |
| Toronto Rock | 2 | 6,794 | 13,589 |
| Vancouver Stealth | 1 | 4,011 | 4,011 |
| League | 8 | 8,869 | 70,952 |