2013 NLL season

2013 NLL season
League	National Lacrosse League
Sport	Indoor lacrosse
Duration	January 4, 2013 – May 11, 2013
Number of teams	9
Regular Season
Season MVP	Shawn Evans
Top scorer	Shawn Evans
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Rochester Knighthawks
Eastern runners-up	Minnesota Swarm
Western champions	Washington Stealth
Western runners-up	Calgary Roughnecks
Finals
Champions	Rochester Knighthawks
Runners-up	Washington Stealth
Finals MVP	Cody Jamieson

The 2013 National Lacrosse League season, the 27th in the history of the NLL, began on January 5, 2013^[1] and ended with the Championship game on May 11, 2013. The Rochester Knighthawks overcame a mediocre 8-8 season to get hot in the playoffs for the second straight year, defeating the Philadelphia Wings, Minnesota Swarm, and Washington Stealth to win their second straight Championship.^[2] The Knighthawks became the first team to repeat as NLL Champions since the 2002-2003 Toronto Rock.^[2]

2013 featured a very close regular season, as the top and bottom teams were only separated by 4 games (the 10-6 Toronto Rock vs. 6-10 Buffalo Bandits). The final playoff spot was up for grabs right up until the final weekend of the season.^[3] In the end, the Bandits were the lone team out of the playoffs, missed the post-season for the first time since 2002.^[4]

Final standings

Reference: ^[5]

East Division

P	Team	GP	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	GF	GA	Diff	GF/GP	GA/GP
1	Toronto Rock – xyz	16	10	6	0.625	0.0	5–3	5–3	194	176	+18	12.13	11.00
2	Rochester Knighthawks – x	16	8	8	0.500	2.0	3–5	5–3	179	165	+14	11.19	10.31
3	Philadelphia Wings – x	16	7	9	0.438	3.0	4–4	3–5	170	207	-37	10.63	12.94
4	Buffalo Bandits	16	6	10	0.375	4.0	2–6	4–4	171	211	-40	10.69	13.19

West Division

P	Team	GP	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	GF	GA	Diff	GF/GP	GA/GP
1	Calgary Roughnecks – xy	16	9	7	0.563	0.0	3–5	6–2	222	211	+11	13.88	13.19
2	Washington Stealth – x	16	9	7	0.563	0.0	5–3	4–4	193	192	+1	12.06	12.00
3	Edmonton Rush – x	16	9	7	0.563	0.0	2–6	7–1	203	170	+33	12.69	10.63
4	Colorado Mammoth – x	16	7	9	0.438	2.0	3–5	4–4	185	202	-17	11.56	12.63
5	Minnesota Swarm – c	16	7	9	0.438	2.0	5–3	2–6	219	202	+17	13.69	12.63

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–LossesGB–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 Final

Champion's Cup Final

E1

Toronto Rock

11

W5

Minnesota Swarm

20

W5

Minnesota Swarm

10

Eastern Division

E2

Rochester Knighthawks

12

E2

Rochester Knighthawks

10

E3

Philadelphia Wings

8

W2

Washington Stealth

10

E2

Rochester Knighthawks

11

W1

Calgary Roughnecks

15

W4

Colorado Mammoth

10

W1

Calgary Roughnecks

13

Western Division

W2

Washington Stealth

14

W2

Washington Stealth

12

W3

Edmonton Rush

11

•Final played at Langley Events Centre due to arena conflict in Washington.

NOTE: In 2013, the NLL added a crossover rule to the playoff format:^[6]

"Eight teams shall earn playoff berths. There is also a crossover allowed which will allow the 5th place team in the West Division to take the place of the 4th place team in the East Division if the 5th place team has a better record. Each division champion faces the fourth place finisher from their division (or the crossover team should that team qualify for the playoffs). The second place finisher in each division faces the third place finisher from their division in the Division Semifinals. Each game is hosted by the higher-seeded team."

With a record of 7-9, the Minnesota Swarm was the 5th place West Division team. With a record of 6-10, the Buffalo Bandits were the 4th place East Division team. Since Minnesota had a better record than Buffalo, the crossover rule went into effect with Minnesota replacing Buffalo and playing as the 4th place team in the East Division playoffs.

Milestones and events

Pre-season

• August 13, 2012: The league announced that the 2012 entry draft would be held in Toronto on October 1. There would also be a player combine the day before the draft at the new Toronto Rock practice facility in Oakville, Ontario.^[7]
• October 2, 2012: Former NLL goaltender and current Buffalo Bandits GM Steve Dietrich was inducted into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Toronto.^[8]
• December 8, 2012: The Calgary Roughnecks defeated the Colorado Mammoth 20-11 in a pre-season game at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, British Columbia. This was the second pre-season game at the LEC, as the Toronto Rock and Washington Stealth played there in 2012.^[9]
• December 14, 2012: The National Lacrosse League returned to Montreal as the Toronto Rock defeated the Rochester Knighthawks 14-10 at the Bell Centre in front of 7,269 fans.^[10]
• December 14, 2012: In a blockbuster trade, NLL superstar Dan Dawson was traded to the Rochester Knighthawks along with his brother Paul Dawson and a first-round draft pick in 2016 for Paul Rabil, Jordan Hall, Joel White, Robbie Campbell, and a second round draft pick in 2014.^[11]
• December 20, 2012: Kaleb Toth, the longest-serving member of the Calgary Roughnecks, announced his retirement from the NLL.^[12]

Regular season

• January 22, 2013: Buffalo Bandits forward Shawn Williams continued his record-setting consecutive game streak, playing in his 200th consecutive NLL game.^[13]
• February 15, 2013: The rare "sock-trick" was accomplished twice on the same night, as Edmonton Rush rookie Mark Matthews and Toronto Rock forward Garrett Billings scored six goals each to lead their teams to victory.^[14][15]
• February 25, 2013: Minnesota Swarm captain Andrew Suitor suffered a knee injury in a game against the Edmonton Rush, ending his 2013 season.^[16]
• March 12, 2013: Former league MVP Casey Powell was traded by the Rochester Knighthawks to the Colorado Mammoth in exchange for Jon Sullivan and a 3rd round draft pick in 2014.^[17]
• March 14, 2013: Buffalo Bandits GM and retired goaltender Steve Dietrich traded a 6th round draft pick to the Toronto Rock for his own playing rights.^[18]
• March 15, 2013: The league announced that the regular season schedule would be expanded to 18 games for the 2014 NLL season. The league had been playing a 16-game schedule since 2002.^[19]

Playoffs

• May 11, 2013: Despite having earned the right to host the Championship game, the Washington Stealth were forced to play the game in a neutral site arena because of schedule conflicts with Comcast Arena. The game was played at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, British Columbia.^[20]

Awards

Award	Winner	Team
Most Valuable Player	Shawn Evans[21]	Calgary Roughnecks
Goaltender of the Year	Matt Vinc[22]	Rochester Knighthawks
Defensive Player of the Year	Kyle Rubisch[23]	Edmonton Rush
Transition Player of the Year	Jordan MacIntosh[24]	Minnesota Swarm
Rookie of the Year	Mark Matthews[25]	Edmonton Rush
Sportsmanship Award	Garrett Billings[26]	Toronto Rock
GM of the Year	Doug Locker[27]	Washington Stealth
Les Bartley Award	Troy Cordingley[28]	Toronto Rock
Executive of the Year Award	Jamie Dawick[29]	Toronto Rock
Tom Borrelli Award	Stephen Stamp[30]	ILIndoor.com

All-Rookie team

• Joey Cupido, Colorado
• Shayne Jackson, Minnesota
• Curtis Knight, Edmonton
• Mark Matthews, Edmonton
• Kiel Matisz, Minnesota
• Joe Resetarits, Calgary
• Dhane Smith, Buffalo

All-Pro teams

First team

• Garrett Billings, Toronto
• Rhys Duch, Washington
• Shawn Evans, Calgary
• Jordan MacIntosh, Minnesota
• Kyle Rubisch, Edmonton
• Matt Vinc, Rochester

Second team

• Callum Crawford, Minnesota
• Curtis Dickson, Calgary
• John Grant, Jr., Colorado
• Jesse Gamble, Toronto
• Mike Grimes, Washington
• Brandon Miller, Philadelphia

Weekly awards

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

Month	Week	Offensive	Defensive	Transition	Rookie
January	1	Cliff Smith	Matt Vinc	Mitch McMichael	Kyle Buchanan
	2	Cliff Smith	Nick Rose	Brodie Merrill	Curtis Knight
	3	John Grant, Jr.	Brandon Miller	Brodie Merrill	Mark Matthews
	4	Shawn Evans	Mike Poulin	Geoff Snider	Kiel Matisz
February	5	John Grant, Jr.	Matt Vinc	Geoff Snider	Shayne Jackson
	6	Cody Jamieson	Tyler Richards	Tyler Hass	Mitch McMichael
	7	Mark Matthews	Anthony Cosmo	Jeremy Thompson	Kiel Matisz
	8	Rhys Duch	Brandon Miller	Jordan MacIntosh	Kiel Matisz
March	9	Ryan Ward	Kyle Rubisch	Jay Thorimbert	Mark Matthews
	10	Dane Dobbie	Tyler Richards	Jesse Gamble	Tye Belanger
	11	Callum Crawford	Tyler Carlson	Jordan MacIntosh	Kyle Belton
	12	Corey Small	Aaron Bold	Alex Kedoh Hill	Curtis Knight
	13	Callum Crawford	Matt Vinc	Jordan MacIntosh	Kiel Matisz
April	14	Callum Crawford	Tye Belanger	Jordan MacIntosh	Shayne Jackson
	15	Dan Dawson	Brandon Miller	Jordan MacIntosh	Jordan Critch
	16	Shawn Evans	Mike Grimes	Jordan MacIntosh	Dhane Smith

Monthly awards

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

Month	Overall	Rookie
January	Shawn Evans	Mark Matthews
February	Garrett Billings	Mark Matthews
March	Colin Doyle	Mark Matthews
April	Callum Crawford	Kiel Matisz

Statistics leaders

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

Stat	Player	Team	Total
Goals	Rhys Duch	Washington	45
Assists	Shawn Evans	Calgary	80
Points	Shawn Evans	Calgary	112
Penalty Minutes	Geoff Snider	Calgary	69
Shots on Goal	Kevin Crowley	Philadelphia	189
Loose Balls	Geoff Snider	Calgary	235
Save Pct	Matt Vinc	Rochester	.802
GAA	Matt Vinc	Rochester	10.25

See also

• 2013 in sports

References

1. "2013 Regular Season Schedule". NLL.com. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
2. "Back-to-back champs! Knighthawks repeat with win over Stealth". NLL.com. May 11, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
3. Stamp, Stephen (April 21, 2013). "NLL Playoffs: Knighthawks and Mammoth are in, Bandits are out, Swarm head east". ILIndoor.com. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
4. Rosenhoch, Alan (April 20, 2013). "Knighthawks fly into playoffs with 10-9 win, Bandits eliminated". NLL.com. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
5. "National Lacrosse League - 2013 Regular Season - Standings". NLL.com. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
6. "2013 NLL Media Guide and Record Book, p. 3, 2013 Divisions and Playoff Scenarios" (PDF).
7. "NLL entry draft to be held October 1 in Toronto". TorontoRock.com. August 13, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
8. Walls, Dave (October 2, 2012). "Steve Dietrich inducted into NLL Hall of Fame". NLL.com. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
9. "Roughnecks over Mammoth in preseason game, 20-11". NLL.com. December 9, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
10. "Rock win Montreal preseason game over Knighthawks, 14-10". NLL.com. December 15, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
11. "Wings acquire Paul Rabil, trade both Dawsons to Knighthawks". NLL.com. December 14, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
12. "Roughnecks announce retirement of Kaleb Toth". NLL.com. December 20, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
13. "Never stop Willy: NLL's ironman set to hit 200 this weekend". NLL.com. January 22, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
14. "'Sock trick' for Matthews as Rush defeat Stealth, 15-10". NLL.com. February 15, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
15. "Billings collects six goals as Rock roll over Roughnecks, 17-12". NLL.com. February 15, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
16. Frederick, Jace (February 25, 2013). "Swarm lose Suitor for remainder of season". NLL.com. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
17. "Mammoth acquire Powell via trade with Knighthawks". NLL.com. March 12, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
18. Chavez, Bob (March 14, 2013). "Buffalo GM Dietrich trades 2015 draft pick to Toronto for playing rights to ... himself". IL Indoor. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
19. "NLL regular season schedule expands to 18 games in 2014". NLL.com. March 15, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
20. "2013 NLL Championship Game set". NLL.com. May 4, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
21. "Calgary's Evans wins 2013 NLL MVP award presented by Reebok". NLL.com. May 9, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
22. "Rochester's Vinc wins Goaltender of the Year Award". NLL.com. May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
23. "Rush's Rubisch wins Defensive Player of the Year Award". NLL.com. May 1, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
24. "Swarm's MacIntosh wins Transition Player of the Year Award". NLL.com. May 1, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
25. "Rush's Matthews wins Moe's Southwest Grill Rookie of the Year". NLL.com. May 8, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
26. "Rock's Billings wins 2013 NLL Sportsmanship Award". NLL.com. April 29, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
27. "Stealth's Locker Wins General Manager of the Year Award". NLL.com. April 30, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
28. "Troy Cordingley Wins NLL Coach of the Year". TorontoRock.com. April 30, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
29. "Rock's Dawick wins 2013 NLL Executive of the Year award". NLL.com. May 28, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
30. "Stamp wins Tom Borrelli Award as 2013 NLL Media Person of the Year". NLL.com. May 29, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.