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.

2000 NLL season
LeagueNational Lacrosse League
SportIndoor lacrosse
DurationJanuary 7, 2000 – May 6, 2000
Number of games12
Number of teams8
Regular season
League championsToronto Rock
  Runners-upBuffalo Bandits
Season MVPJohn Tavares (Buffalo Bandits)
Top scorerJohn Tavares (Buffalo Bandits)
Gary Gait (Pittsburgh CrosseFire)
Champion's Cup
ChampionsToronto Rock
  Runners-upRochester Knighthawks
Finals MVPDan Stroup (Toronto)
NLL seasons

Team movement

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The Toronto Rock vs Albany Attack on 8 April 2000

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

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  National Lacrosse League 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

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Reference: [1]

PTeamGPWLPCTGBHomeRoadGFGADiffGF/GPGA/GP

1Toronto Rockxyz1293.7500.05–14–2162130+3213.5010.83
2Buffalo Banditsx1284.6671.05–13–3202194+816.8316.17
3Rochester Knighthawksx1284.6671.05–13–3187149+3815.5812.42
4Philadelphia Wingsx1275.5832.04–23–3172165+714.3313.75
5Albany Attack1266.5003.04–22–4169160+914.0813.33
6Pittsburgh CrosseFire1266.5003.04–22–4184164+2015.3313.67
7New York Saints1239.2506.02–41–5152194−4212.6716.17
8Syracuse Smash12111.0838.01–50–6135207−7211.2517.25

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; GBGames 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

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No All-Star game was held in 2000.

Playoffs

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

Awards

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Regular Season

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Home Team Home Games Average Attendance Total Attendance[2]
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

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Lacrosse League - 2000 Regular Season - Standings". NLL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "2000 Season". nllstats.com. Retrieved 16 June 2023.