# 2011 NLL season

The 2011 National Lacrosse League season, the 25th in the history of the NLL, began on January 8, 2011, and ended with the Championship game, which was won by the Toronto Rock 8-7.

## Team movement

The Orlando Titans announced in July 2010 that they would not participate in the 2011 season, due to financial troubles. Some players were granted free agency while others were involved in a dispersal draft.

### Teams

2011 National Lacrosse League :
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| East | Boston Blazers | Boston, Massachusetts | TD Garden | 17,850 |
| East | Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | HSBC Arena | 18,690 |
| East | Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Wachovia Center | 19,537 |
| 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 | Edmonton Rush | Edmonton, Alberta | Rexall Place | 16,839 |
| West | Minnesota Swarm | Saint Paul, Minnesota | XCEL Energy Center | 18,064 |
| West | Washington Stealth | Everett, Washington | Comcast Arena at Everett | 8,513 |

## Final standings

Reference:
East Division :
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | Buffalo Bandits – xy | 16 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 0.0 | 4–4 | 6–2 | 169 | 159 | +10 | 10.56 | 9.94 |
| 2 | Toronto Rock – x | 16 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 0.0 | 7–1 | 3–5 | 187 | 168 | +19 | 11.69 | 10.50 |
| 3 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 16 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 0.0 | 4–4 | 6–2 | 176 | 159 | +17 | 11.00 | 9.94 |
| 4 | Boston Blazers – x | 16 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 2.0 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 166 | 155 | +11 | 10.38 | 9.69 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Wings | 16 | 5 | 11 | .312 | 5.0 | 2–6 | 3–5 | 143 | 179 | −36 | 8.94 | 11.19 |
West Division :
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | Calgary Roughnecks – xyz | 16 | 11 | 5 | .688 | 0.0 | 6–2 | 5–3 | 198 | 181 | +17 | 12.38 | 11.31 |
| 2 | Minnesota Swarm – x | 16 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 3.0 | 5–3 | 3–5 | 187 | 180 | +7 | 11.69 | 11.25 |
| 3 | Washington Stealth – x | 16 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 3.0 | 3–5 | 5–3 | 203 | 198 | +5 | 12.69 | 12.38 |
| 4 | Colorado Mammoth – x | 16 | 5 | 11 | .312 | 6.0 | 3–5 | 2–6 | 151 | 172 | −21 | 9.44 | 10.75 |
| 5 | Edmonton Rush | 16 | 5 | 11 | .312 | 6.0 | 4–4 | 1–7 | 175 | 204 | −29 | 10.94 | 12.75 |
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

| Divisional Semifinal | Divisional Semifinal | Divisional Semifinal | Divisional Final | Divisional Final | Divisional Final | Champion's Cup Final | Champion's Cup Final | Champion's Cup Final |
| E1 | Buffalo | 11 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Boston | 10 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Boston | 10 | E1 | Buffalo | 11 | | | |
| Eastern Division | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | E1 | Buffalo | 11 | | | |
| Eastern Division | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | E2 | Toronto | 12 | | | |
| E2 | Toronto | 10 | E2 | Toronto | 12 | | | |
| E3 | Rochester | 8 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Rochester | 8 | | | | E2 | Toronto | 8 |
| | | | | | | W3 | Washington | 7 |
| W1 | Calgary | 10 | | | | | | | W3 | Washington | 7 |
| W4 | Colorado | 6 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Colorado | 6 | W1 | Calgary | 8 | | | |
| Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | W1 | Calgary | 8 | | | |
| Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | W3 | Washington | 10 | | | |
| W2 | Minnesota | 8 | W3 | Washington | 10 | | | |
| W3 | Washington | 14 | | | | | | |

## Milestones and events
### Pre-season

* July 30, 2010: The league announced that the Orlando Titans would not be participating in the 2011 season.

### Regular season

* John Tavares scores the first goal of the game against the Philadelphia Wings at the Wells Fargo Center in a 16–7 win, marking the first player in league history to reach 700 goals scored.
* The following week at home against the same team, Tavares would become the first person to tally 1,500 career points.

## Awards
### Annual

| Award | Winner | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | Jeff Shattler | Calgary Roughnecks |
| Goaltender of the Year | Matt Vinc | Rochester Knighthawks |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Pat McCready | Rochester Knighthawks |
| Transition Player of the Year | Jeff Shattler | Calgary Roughnecks |
| Rookie of the Year | Curtis Dickson | Calgary Roughnecks |
| Sportsmanship Award | Jordan Hall | Rochester Knighthawks |
| GM of the Year | Curt Styres | Rochester Knighthawks |
| Les Bartley Award | Mike Hasen | Rochester Knighthawks |
| Executive of the Year Award | Curt Styres | Rochester Knighthawks |
| Tom Borrelli Award | Budd Bailey | |

### All-Pro teams

First Team
* Jeff Shattler, Calgary
* Pat McCready, Rochester
* Matt Vinc, Rochester
* Ryan Benesch, Minnesota
* Rhys Duch, Washington
* Dan Dawson, Boston
Second Team
* Lewis Ratcliff, Washington
* John Tavares, Buffalo
* Stephan Leblanc, Toronto
* Brodie Merrill, Edmonton
* Mike Carnegie, Calgary
* Anthony Cosmo, Boston

### All-Rookie team

* Curtis Dickson, Calgary
* Cody Jamieson, Rochester
* Kyle Rubisch, Boston
* Aaron Pascas, Toronto
* Andrew Suitor, Minnesota
* Tyler Hass, Minnesota

### Weekly awards

The NLL gives out awards weekly for the best overall player, best offensive player, best transition player, best defensive player, and best rookie.
| Month | Week | Overall | Offensive | Defensive | Transition | Rookie |
| January | 1 | Bob Watson | Scott Ranger | Mike Poulin | Paul Rabil | Aaron Pascas |
| January | 2 | Ryan Benesch | Ryan Benesch | Nick Patterson | Mark Steenhuis | Cody Jamieson |
| January | 3 | Stephan Leblanc | Luke Wiles | Nick Patterson | Brodie Merrill | Cody Jamieson |
| January | 4 | Brandon Miller | Dane Dobbie | Bob Watson | Jeff Shattler | Curtis Dickson |
| February | 5 | Shawn Evans | Dan Dawson | Tyler Richards | Jordan Hall | Cody Jamieson |
| February | 6 | John Tavares | John Tavares | Anthony Cosmo | Paul Rabil | Aaron Pascas |
| February | 7 | Bob Watson | Garrett Billings | Jeff Moleski | Ryan Hotaling | Curtis Dickson |
| February | 8 | Colin Doyle | Colin Doyle | Sandy Chapman | Jordan Hall | Cody Jamieson |
| March | 9 | Mike Thompson | Lewis Ratcliff | Mike Grimes | Jordan Hall | Rob Hellyer |
| March | 10 | Jeff Shattler | John Tavares | Chris Corbeil | Jeff Shattler | Curtis Dickson |
| March | 11 | Dane Dobbie | Dane Dobbie | Nolan Heavenor | Jeff Shattler | Curtis Dickson |
| March | 12 | Zack Greer | Zack Greer | Scott Campbell | Jeff Shattler | Curtis Dickson |
| April | 13 | John Grant | Shawn Williams | Matt Roik | Jordan Hall | Andrew Suitor |
| April | 14 | Rhys Duch | Dan Dawson | Mike Thompson | Tom Montour | Cody Jamieson |
| April | 15 | Kevin Buchanan | Kevin Buchanan | Chris Levis | Brodie Merrill | Kyle Rubisch |
| April | 16 | Ryan Benesch | Ryan Benesch | Nick Patterson | Jordan Hall | Cody Jamieson |

### Monthly awards

Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
| Month | Overall | Rookie |
| January | Bob Watson | Curtis Dickson |
| February | Garrett Billings | Kyle Rubisch |
| March | Jeff Shattler | Curtis Dickson |
| April | Ryan Benesch | Cody Jamieson |

## Statistics leaders

Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| Goals | Ryan Benesch | Minnesota | 46 |
| Assists | Dan Dawson | Boston | 59 |
| Points | Ryan Benesch | Minnesota | 95 |
| Penalty Minutes | Geoff Snider | Calgary | 74 |
| Shots on Goal | John Grant, Jr. | Colorado | 203 |
| Loose Balls | Brodie Merrill | Edmonton | 187 |
| Save Pct | Matt Vinc | Rochester | .794 |
| GAA | Anthony Cosmo | Boston | 9.81 |

## Attendance
### Regular Season

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| Buffalo Bandits | 8 | 17,095 | 136,765 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 8 | 15,865 | 126,927 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 8 | 10,384 | 83,074 |
| Boston Blazers | 8 | 8,712 | 69,696 |
| Philadelphia Wings | 8 | 8,661 | 69,294 |
| Toronto Rock | 8 | 8,513 | 68,108 |
| Minnesota Swarm | 8 | 8,287 | 66,302 |
| Edmonton Rush | 8 | 7,151 | 57,214 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 8 | 5,331 | 42,648 |
| Washington Stealth | 8 | 3,226 | 25,808 |
| League | 80 | 9,322 | 745,836 |

### Playoffs

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| Toronto Rock | 2 | 12,358 | 24,716 |
| Buffalo Bandits | 2 | 11,811 | 23,622 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 2 | 10,108 | 20,217 |
| Minnesota Swarm | 1 | 5,878 | 5,878 |
| League | 7 | 10,633 | 74,433 |