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2004 NLL season

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2004 NLL season
LeagueNational Lacrosse League
SportIndoor lacrosse
DurationDecember 26, 2003 – May 7, 2004
Number of games16
Number of teams10
TV partner(s)Fox Sports Net[1]
Regular season
Season MVPJim Veltman (Toronto Rock)
Top scorerGary Gait (Colorado Mammoth)
Playoffs
Eastern championsToronto Rock
  Eastern runners-upRochester Knighthawks
Western championsColorado Mammoth
  Western runners-upSan Jose Stealth
Champion's Cup
ChampionsCalgary Roughnecks
  Runners-upBuffalo Bandits
Finals MVPCurtis Palidwor (Calgary)
NLL seasons

The 2004 National Lacrosse League season is the 18th season in the NLL that began on December 26, 2003, with the Arizona Sting hosting the Vancouver Ravens. That game was the Sting's first-ever game and the first event held in the new Glendale Arena (now Gila River Arena) in Glendale, Arizona. The season concluded with the championship game on May 7, 2004. Over 19,000 fans, the second largest crowd ever at an NLL game, packed the Pengrowth Saddledome (now Scotiabank Saddledome) to watch the Calgary Roughnecks defeat the Buffalo Bandits 14–11.[2] This game was the first NLL championship game since 1998 that did not feature the Toronto Rock.

The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the league and the Professional Lacrosse Players' Association expired before the 2004 season, and the lack of a new agreement caused a 12-day players strike in December 2003. On December 17, the NLL and PLPA announced that the previous CBA had been extended by one year, guaranteeing that the 2004 season would be played without strikes or lockouts.[3]

Team movement

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2004 was a season of turmoil for the NLL – two franchises disappeared while three others moved cross-country, causing a division realignment. Gone was the three-division format that had been used in the preceding two seasons; the league was now split into East and West divisions. The Ottawa Rebel and New York Saints franchises both folded, and the following teams moved:

These three joined Colorado, Calgary, and Vancouver in the West division, while perennial rivals Toronto, Buffalo, Rochester, and Philadelphia were left to fight over three playoff spots in the East.

Teams

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East Division West Division
2004 National Lacrosse League
Division Team City Arena Capacity
East Buffalo Bandits Buffalo, New York HSBC Arena 18,690
Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wachovia Center 19,523
Rochester Knighthawks Rochester, New York Blue Cross Arena 10,662
Toronto Rock Toronto, Ontario Air Canada Centre 18,800
West Anaheim Storm Anaheim, California Arrowhead Pond 17,174
Arizona Sting Glendale, Arizona Glendale Arena 17,125
Calgary Roughnecks Calgary, Alberta Pengrowth Saddledome 19,289
Colorado Mammoth Denver, Colorado Pepsi Center 18,007
San Jose Stealth San Jose, California HP Pavilion 17,496
Vancouver Ravens Vancouver, British Columbia General Motors Place 18,514

Milestones

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  • January 9: The Anaheim Storm play their first ever home game, losing to the Arizona Sting 19–18 in the first triple overtime game in NLL history. Mark Shepherd scored the teams first regulation goal. [4] This is a record not likely to ever be broken – before the 2005 season, the NLL changed overtime periods to 15 minutes from five.[5] Since then, no games have even seen double overtime.

Final standings

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Regular season

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Reference: [6]

East Division
PTeamGPWLPCTGBHomeRoadGFGADiffGF/GPGA/GP

1Toronto Rockxy16106.6250.05–35–3202176+2612.6211.00
2Rochester Knighthawksx1688.5002.06–22–6173186−1310.8111.62
3Buffalo Banditsx1688.5002.04–44–4205198+712.8112.38
4Philadelphia Wings1679.4383.03–54–4192198−612.0012.38
West Division
PTeamGPWLPCTGBHomeRoadGFGADiffGF/GPGA/GP

1Colorado Mammothxyz16133.8120.07–16–2223173+5013.9410.81
2San Jose Stealthx16115.6882.07–14–4204201+312.7512.56
3Calgary Roughnecksx16106.6253.04–46–2214187+2713.3811.69
4Arizona Sting1679.4386.06–21–7200208−812.5013.00
5Vancouver Ravens16511.3128.03–52–6188213−2511.7513.31
6Anaheim Storm16115.06212.01–70–8171227−5610.6914.19

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

Playoffs

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Divisional SemifinalsDivisional FinalsChampionship
East Division
3Buffalo19
3Buffalo131Toronto10
2Rochester9E3Buffalo11
W3Calgary14
West Division
3Calgary13
3Calgary151Colorado11
2San Jose14

All Star Game

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The 2004 All-Star Game was held at Pepsi Center in Denver on February 22, 2004. The East division defeated the West 19–15, and Buffalo's Mark Steenhuis was named game MVP.

All-Star teams

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Eastern Division starters   Western Division starters
Colin Doyle, Toronto Gary Gait, Colorado
Blaine Manning, Toronto Tracey Kelusky, Calgary
John Tavares, Buffalo Gavin Prout, Colorado
Pat Coyle, Toronto Jim Moss, San Jose
Mike Hasen, Rochester Andy Ogilvie, Vancouver
Pat O'Toole, Rochester (goalie) Gee Nash, Colorado (goalie)
Eastern Division Reserves Western Division Reserves
Mike Accursi, Buffalo Ted Dowling, Calgary
Jake Bergey, Philadelphia Mark Shepherd, Anaheim
Paul Cantabene, Philadelphia Jay Jalbert, Colorado
Glenn Clark, Toronto Rob Kirkby, Calgary
Kyle Couling, Buffalo Mike Law, Anaheim
Steve Dietrich, Buffalo (goalie) Pat Maddalena, Arizona
Derek Malawsky, Rochester Mike Miron, Arizona (goalie)
Tom Marechek, Philadelphia Casey Powell, Anaheim
Jeff Ratcliffe, Philadelphia Josh Sanderson, San Jose
Mark Steenhuis, Buffalo Dan Stroup, Vancouver
Andrew Turner, Rochester Kaleb Toth, Calgary
Jim Veltman, Toronto Cam Woods, San Jose

Awards

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Award Winner Team
MVP Award Jim Veltman Toronto
Rookie of the Year Award Taylor Wray Calgary
Les Bartley Award (Coach of the Year) Paul Day Rochester
GM of the Year Award John Mouradian San Jose
Executive of the Year Award Steve Govett Colorado
Defensive Player of the Year Award Cam Woods (tie) San Jose
  Taylor Wray Calgary
Goaltender of the Year Award Gord Nash Colorado
Sportsmanship Award Gary Gait (tie) Colorado
  Peter Lough Arizona
Championship Game MVP Curtis Palidwor Calgary

Weekly awards

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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 No awards given
2 Gary Gait Gary Gait Mike Miron AJ Shannon
3 Ted Dowling John Grant, Jr. Matt King Randy Daly
4 Blaine Manning Blaine Manning Andy Ogilvie Craig Conn
5 Mike Regan Mike Regan Brandon Miller Nick Patterson
6 John Tavares Shawn Williams Curtis Palidwor Steve Hoar
7 Dallas Eliuk Derek Malawsky Dallas Eliuk Taylor Wray
8 John Tavares Jeff Ratcliffe Pat O'Toole Ryan Ward
9 Dan Teat Mark Shepherd Cam Woods AJ Shannon
10 Curtis Palidwor Shawn Williams Curtis Palidwor Scott Evans
11 Mike Miron Pat Maddalena Mike Miron Cam Bergman
12 Jim Veltman Jim Veltman Dwight Maetche Scott Evans
13 Shawn Williams Shawn Williams Peter Lough Chris Cercy
14 Jim Veltman Colin Doyle Dallas Eliuk Ryan Ward
15 Shawn Williams Shawn Williams Pat O'Toole Curtis Smith
16 Shawn Williams Shawn Williams Pat O'Toole Brad MacDonald

Monthly awards

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

Month Overall Rookie
Jan Gavin Prout Craig Conn
Feb John Tavares Craig Conn
Mar Jim Veltman Taylor Wray

Statistics leaders

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

Stat Player Team Number
Goals Gary Gait Colorado 55
Assists Josh Sanderson San Jose 61
Points Gary Gait Colorado 93
Penalty Minutes Troy Bonterre Arizona 73
Loose Balls Jim Veltman Toronto 179
Save Pct Gee Nash Colorado 79.0

Attendance

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Regular Season

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Home Team Home Games Average Attendance Total Attendance[7]
Colorado Mammoth 8 17,617 140,942
Toronto Rock 8 16,907 135,256
Philadelphia Wings 8 13,640 109,123
Calgary Roughnecks 8 9,994 79,950
Buffalo Bandits 8 8,929 71,435
Rochester Knighthawks 8 8,787 70,293
Vancouver Ravens 8 7,124 56,992
Arizona Sting 8 5,768 46,147
San Jose Stealth 8 5,332 42,656
Anaheim Storm 8 4,750 37,997
League 80 9,749 779,946

Playoffs

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Home Team Home Games Average Attendance Total Attendance[7]
Calgary Roughnecks 1 19,289 19,289
Toronto Rock 1 14,618 14,618
Colorado Mammoth 1 14,283 14,283
Rochester Knighthawks 1 7,029 7,029
San Jose Stealth 1 4,874 4,874
League 5 12,019 60,093

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NLL Champion's Cup Playoffs Games on TV this weekend". Our Sports Central. April 15, 2004.
  2. ^ Philly, R.A. (May 7, 2004). "Capacity crowd cheers Calgary to Cup". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. Archived from the original on August 18, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
  3. ^ "Re-Lax! League Players Reach Agreement". NLL.com. December 17, 2003. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  4. ^ Tucker, Seth (January 10, 2004). "Sting outlasts Storm, 19–18, in triple OT". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. Archived from the original on August 18, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  5. ^ Philly, R.A. (December 28, 2004). "League announces various rule changes". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. Archived from the original on August 18, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  6. ^ "National Lacrosse League - 2004 Regular Season - Standings". NLL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "2004 Season". nllstats.com. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
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