2006 NLL season

2006 NLL season
League National Lacrosse League
Sport Indoor lacrosse
Duration December 30, 2005 – May 13, 2006
Number of teams 11
Regular season
Season MVP Steve Dietrich (Buffalo Bandits)
Top scorer Josh Sanderson (Toronto Rock)
Playoffs
Eastern champions Buffalo Bandits
  Eastern runners-up Rochester Knighthawks
Western champions Portland LumberJax
  Western runners-up Colorado Mammoth
Champion's Cup
Champion's Cup champions Colorado Mammoth
  Runners-up Buffalo Bandits
Champion's Cup MVP Gavin Prout (Colorado)
NLL seasons
← 2005 season

2007 season →

The 2006 National Lacrosse League season was the 20th season in the history of the league, which began as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League in 1987. The season began on December 30, 2005 and concluded with the championship game on May 13, 2006.

The defending champion Toronto Rock were once again the favourite to win the Champions' Cup[1], but a slow start plus a dismal performance in the semifinal game against Rochester removed the Rock from contention. The Colorado Mammoth, under first-year head coach Gary Gait, won their first title since winning the first ever title in 1987, as the Baltimore Thunder.

Highly-touted Portland rookie Brodie Merrill lived up to his hype, winning both the Defensive Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year awards. Portland continued its domination of the post-season awards with Derek Keenan, himself a former Rookie of the Year Award winner (1992 with Buffalo), winning both the Les Bartley Award for coach of the year and the GM of the Year Award, and owner Angela Batinovich winning the Executive of the Year Award.

Contents

Team Movement

The season featured the debut of two expansion teams; the Edmonton Rush and the Portland LumberJax, both in the Western Division. Portland beat the expansion team odds and won its division, finishing with an 11-5 record, while Edmonton did not fare so well. The Rush finished the season 1-15, their only win coming at the hands of their provincial rivals, the Calgary Roughnecks.

The 2006 season also saw the demise of the Anaheim Storm, who simply couldn't attract fans in their two years in Southern California, after not being able to attract fans in two years in New Jersey.

Milestones

Final standings

Regular season

W = Wins, L = Losses, GB = Games Behind Division Leader, PCT = Winning Percentage, Home = Home record, Road = Road record, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against

Qualified for playoffs
East Division
Team W L GB PCT Home Road GF GA
Buffalo Bandits 11 5 - .688 6-2 5-3 193 167
Rochester Knighthawks 9 7 2 .563 6-2 3-5 196 180
Toronto Rock 8 8 3 .500 5-3 3-5 182 179
Minnesota Swarm 8 8 3 .500 3-5 5-3 158 171
Philadelphia Wings 8 8 3 .500 5-3 3-5 184 184
West Division
Team W L GB PCT Home Road GF GA
Portland LumberJax 11 5 - .688 5-3 6-2 188 177
Colorado Mammoth 10 6 1 .625 6-2 4-4 200 172
Calgary Roughnecks 9 7 2 .563 4-4 5-3 183 178
Arizona Sting 8 8 3 .500 4-4 4-4 198 199
San Jose Stealth 5 11 6 .313 3-5 2-6 151 174
Edmonton Rush 1 15 10 .063 0-8 1-7 150 202


Toronto won the 3-way tiebreaker with Minnesota and Philadelphia

Playoffs

  Divisional Semifinal Divisional Final Champion's Cup Final
                           
  1  Buffalo 11  
4  Minnesota 10  
  1  Buffalo 15  
Eastern Division
  2  Rochester 10  
2  Toronto 8
  3  Rochester 16  
    W2  Colorado 16
  E1  Buffalo 9
  1  Portland 10  
4  Arizona 14  
  2  Colorado 13
Western Division
  4  Arizona 12  
2  Colorado 18
  3  Calgary 17  

All-Star game

The 2006 All-Star Game was held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario on February 25, 2006. The West Division defeated the East Division 14-13. The MVP of the game was Lewis Ratcliff of the Calgary Roughnecks, who scored 4 goals, including the game winner. This marked the second straight year that a Roughneck player was All-Star Game MVP, with Tracy Kelusky having won it in 2005.

All-Star teams

Eastern Division starters   Western Division starters
John Grant, Jr., Rochester Gavin Prout, Colorado
Colin Doyle, Toronto Tracey Kelusky, Calgary
John Tavares, Buffalo Craig Conn, Arizona
Steve Toll, Rochester Jay Jalbert, Colorado
Thomas Hajek, Philadelphia Brodie Merrill, Portland
Pat O'Toole, Rochester (goalie) Anthony Cosmo, San Jose (goalie)
Eastern Division Reserves Western Division Reserves
Marshall Abrams, Rochester Dan Carey, Colorado
Jake Bergey, Philadelphia Bruce Codd, Arizona
Ryan Cousins, Minnesota Jonas Derks, Arizona
Glenn Clark, Philadelphia Dallas Eliuk, Portland (goalie)
Steve Dietrich, Buffalo (goalie) Peter Lough, Arizona
Blaine Manning, Toronto Derek Malawsky, San Jose
Dan Marohl, Philadelphia Lewis Ratcliff, Calgary
Josh Sanderson, Toronto Scott Self, Arizona
Phil Sanderson, Toronto Ryan Sharp, Portland
Mark Steenhuis, Buffalo Kaleb Toth, Calgary
Shawn Williams, Rochester Andrew Turner, Edmonton
Jim Veltman, Toronto Taylor Wray, Calgary

Awards

Annual

Award Winner Team
Jet Blue MVP Award Steve Dietrich[4] Buffalo
Edge Active Care Rookie of the Year Award Brodie Merrill[5] Portland
Les Bartley Award (Coach of the Year) Derek Keenan[6] Portland
GM of the Year Award Derek Keenan[7] Portland
Executive of the Year Award Angela Batinovich[8] Portland
Defensive Player of the Year Brodie Merrill[9] Portland
RBK Goaltender of the Year Award Steve Dietrich[10] Buffalo
Bowflex Sportsmanship Award Sean Greenhalgh[11] Philadelphia
Championship Game MVP Gavin Prout[12] Colorado

All-Pro Teams

First Team

Second Team

All-Rookie Team

Weekly Awards

The NLL gives out awards weekly for the best overall player, best offensive player, best defensive player, and best rookie.

Week Overall Offensive Defensive Rookie
1 Sean Greenhalgh Sean Greenhalgh Matt Roik Sean Greenhalgh
2 Jonas Derks Jonas Derks Chris Levis Jeff Zywicki
3 Mark Steenhuis Mark Steenhuis Steve Dietrich Shawn Evans
4 Nick Patterson Jake Bergey Dallas Eliuk Brodie Merrill
5 John Grant, Jr. John Grant, Jr. Pat O'Toole Brodie Merrill
6 Craig Conn Craig Conn Nick Patterson Dan Carey
7 Chad Culp Chad Culp Nick Patterson Sean Greenhalgh
8 John Tavares Brodie Merrill Pat Campbell Brodie Merrill
9 Aaron Wilson Aaron Wilson Bob Watson Sean Greenhalgh
10 Matt Disher John Grant, Jr. Matt Disher Shawn Evans
11 Sean Greenhalgh John Grant, Jr. Matt King Jeff Zywicki
12 Jay Jalbert Ryan Ward Jeff Zywicki Jay Jalbert
13 Mark Steenhuis Mark Steenhuis Matt King Roger Vyse
Brodie Merrill (tie)
14 Brodie Merrill Jay Jalbert Steve Dietrich Brodie Merrill
15 Colin Doyle Colin Doyle Dallas Eliuk Sean Greenhalgh
16 Dan Dawson Dan Dawson Steve Dietrich Sean Greenhalgh

Monthly Awards

Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.

Month Overall Rookie
Jan John Grant, Jr. Sean Greenhalgh
Feb Nick Patterson Brodie Merrill
Mar Gavin Prout Brodie Merrill

Statistics Leaders

Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.

Stat Player Team Number
Goals John Grant, Jr. Rochester 54
Assists Josh Sanderson Toronto 69
Points Josh Sanderson Toronto 98
Penalty Minutes Rob VanBeek Philadelphia 72
Shots on Goal John Grant, Jr. Rochester 277
Loose Balls Jim Veltman Toronto 226
Save Pct Steve Dietrich Buffalo 80.8
GAA Steve Dietrich Buffalo 9.97

See also

References

  1. ^ "Toronto opens 2006 as Experts' top pick". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. January 4, 2006. http://www.lacrosse-network.com/outsidersguide/poll060104.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  2. ^ Philly, R.A. (February 22, 2006). "Record-tying Tavares named Player of Week". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. http://www.lacrosse-network.com/outsidersguide/news060222.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-04. 
  3. ^ Philly, R.A. (March 4, 2006). "NLL Week Ten Roundup". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. http://www.lacrosse-network.com/outsidersguide/game0610ru.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-04. 
  4. ^ "Dietrich Wins 2006 Jet Blue MVP Award". NLL website. May 11, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=429. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  5. ^ "Merrill Wins Edge Active Care Rookie of the Year". NLL website. May 9, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=436. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  6. ^ "Derek Keenan Wins Les Bartley Award". NLL website. May 4, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=441. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  7. ^ "Derek Keenan Wins Vonage GM of the Year". NLL website. May 5, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=440. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  8. ^ "Batinovich Named Executive of the Year". NLL website. May 8, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=438. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  9. ^ "Merrill Wins Belmont.com Defensive Player of the Year". NLL website. May 2, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=443. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  10. ^ "Steve Dietrich Named RBK Goaltender of the Year". NLL website. May 3, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=442. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  11. ^ "Greenhalgh Wins Bowflex Sportsmanship Award". NLL website. May 1, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=444. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  12. ^ Knight, Ben (May 13, 2006). "Mammoth stampedes over baffled Bandits". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. http://www.lacrosse-network.com/outsidersguide/game0619cobu.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 

External links