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.
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
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
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.
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.
See also
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Dietrich Wins 2006 Jet Blue MVP Award". NLL website. May 11, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=429. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Derek Keenan Wins Les Bartley Award". NLL website. May 4, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=441. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
- ^ "Derek Keenan Wins Vonage GM of the Year". NLL website. May 5, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=440. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
- ^ "Batinovich Named Executive of the Year". NLL website. May 8, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=438. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Steve Dietrich Named RBK Goaltender of the Year". NLL website. May 3, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=442. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
- ^ "Greenhalgh Wins Bowflex Sportsmanship Award". NLL website. May 1, 2006. http://nll.com/article.php?id=444. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
- ^ 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
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