2009 NLL season
# 2009 NLL season

The 2009 National Lacrosse League season, the 23rd in the history of the NLL, began January 3, 2009 in Buffalo, Portland, and Sunrise, Florida, and concluded with the Calgary Roughnecks defeating the New York Titans 12—10 in the Champion's Cup on May 15, 2009 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

## Team movement

After the 2008 season was cancelled and then reinstated, the Boston Blazers and Arizona Sting both announced that they would not participate in the 2008 season, and would return in 2009. However, in the summer of 2008 the Arizona Sting ceased operations and its players were put in a dispersal draft. The Blazers drafted former Sting and LumberJax forward Dan Dawson first overall.

Just weeks prior to the start of the season, the Chicago Shamrox suspended operations due to financial troubles and the players were placed in another dispersal draft. Anthony Cosmo was selected 1st overall by the Boston Blazers in this draft.

Finally, while not a franchise relocation, the Minnesota Swarm were moved from the East Division to the West Division.

## Final standings

Reference:

East Division :

| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | New York Titans – xy | 16 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 0.0 | 5–3 | 5–3 | 190 | 180 | +10 | 11.88 | 11.25 |
| 2 | Buffalo Bandits – x | 16 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 0.0 | 5–3 | 5–3 | 223 | 170 | +53 | 13.94 | 10.62 |
| 3 | Boston Blazers – x | 16 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 0.0 | 4–4 | 6–2 | 181 | 168 | +13 | 11.31 | 10.50 |
| 4 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 16 | 7 | 9 | .438 | 3.0 | 6–2 | 1–7 | 169 | 197 | −28 | 10.56 | 12.31 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Wings | 16 | 7 | 9 | .438 | 3.0 | 4–4 | 3–5 | 188 | 193 | −5 | 11.75 | 12.06 |
| 6 | Toronto Rock | 16 | 6 | 10 | .375 | 4.0 | 3–5 | 3–5 | 194 | 218 | −24 | 12.12 | 13.62 |

West Division :

| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Calgary Roughnecks – xyz | 16 | 12 | 4 | .750 | 0.0 | 5–3 | 7–1 | 206 | 167 | +39 | 12.88 | 10.44 |
| 2 | Portland LumberJax – x | 16 | 9 | 7 | .562 | 3.0 | 4–4 | 5–3 | 181 | 177 | +4 | 11.31 | 11.06 |
| 3 | San Jose Stealth – x | 16 | 7 | 9 | .438 | 5.0 | 5–3 | 2–6 | 200 | 185 | +15 | 12.50 | 11.56 |
| 4 | Colorado Mammoth – x | 16 | 7 | 9 | .438 | 5.0 | 4–4 | 3–5 | 172 | 184 | −12 | 10.75 | 11.50 |
| 5 | Minnesota Swarm | 16 | 6 | 10 | .375 | 6.0 | 2–6 | 4–4 | 174 | 198 | −24 | 10.88 | 12.38 |
| 6 | Edmonton Rush | 16 | 5 | 11 | .312 | 7.0 | 4–4 | 1–7 | 159 | 200 | −41 | 9.94 | 12.50 |

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; GB: 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 Semifinal | Divisional Semifinal | Divisional Final | Divisional Final | Divisional Final | Champion's Cup Final | Champion's Cup Final | Champion's Cup Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| E1 | New York | 11 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Rochester | 10 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Rochester | 10 | E1 | New York | 9 | | | |
| Eastern Division | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | E1 | New York | 9 | | | |
| Eastern Division | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | E2 | Buffalo | 3 | | | |
| E2 | Buffalo | 11 | E2 | Buffalo | 3 | | | |
| E3 | Boston | 8 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Boston | 8 | | | | E1 | New York | 10 |
| | | | | | | W1 | Calgary | 12 |
| W1 | Calgary | 15 | | | | | | | W1 | Calgary | 12 |
| W4 | Colorado | 8 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Colorado | 8 | W1 | Calgary | 17 | | | |
| Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | W1 | Calgary | 17 | | | |
| Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | W3 | San Jose | 5 | | | |
| W2 | Portland | 16 | W3 | San Jose | 5 | | | |
| W3 | San Jose | 20 | | | | | | |

## Milestones and events

### Pre-season

* August 19, 2008: The NLL announced that the Minnesota Swarm would be moving from the East division to the West division, giving the West six teams to the East's seven.
* August 22, 2008: Chicago Shamrox goalie Matt Roik was traded to the San Jose Stealth with two first round draft picks in exchange for veteran goalie Anthony Cosmo.
* September 2, 2008: The Rochester Knighthawks announce that Paul Suggate will be the new head coach. Freeman Bucktooth and former team captain Mike Hasen were also named assistant coaches.
* September 7, 2008: Just hours before the entry draft, the Toronto Rock, San Jose Stealth, and Rochester Knighthawks made a blockbuster trade. Toronto sent Aaron Wilson and a 2009 first round draft pick to Rochester, who sent Stephen Hoar back to Toronto. Toronto also received Luke Wiles from San Jose, while San Jose gets Rochester's first round pick in the 2008 entry draft.
* September 9, 2008: Rochester Knighthawks star John Grant, Jr. announced that he would miss the entire 2009 season after undergoing emergency surgery to remove an infection in the ACL in his left knee.
* September 25: The NLL announced that a regular season game will be played between the New York Titans and the Toronto Rock at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. The game will be known as the Florida Lacrosse Cup. This will be the first pro lacrosse game ever played in the state. The event was spearheaded by former Rock and Philadelphia Wings forward Kevin Finneran.
* October 15, 2008: The Rochester Knighthawks acquired the rights to lacrosse legend Gary Gait from the Colorado Mammoth for forward Andrew Potter and first-round draft picks in both 2009 and 2010. Gait, whose single-season scoring record was shattered during the 2008 season by Athan Iannucci, originally retired from the NLL after the 2005 season.
* November 11, 2008: Legendary goaltender Dallas Eliuk announced that he will not play in 2009, taking a job as an assistant coach with the Portland LumberJax. Eliuk did not officially announce his retirement until December 9. Eliuk won four NLL championships, all with the Wings, and is the NLL's all-time leader in saves.
* November 25, 2008: Rochester Knighthawks GM Regy Thorpe signed a playing contract, becoming the first player-GM in NLL history.
* December 24, 2008: Less than four months after taking the job and without a single regular season game under his belt, Paul Suggate resigned his position as Rochester head coach. No reason was given for Suggate's resignation. Only two days later, the Knighthawks announced that lacrosse legend Paul Gait had been hired as head coach.

### Regular season

* January 3, 2009: The Toronto Rock won the first-ever Florida Lacrosse Cup, defeating the New York Titans 15-14 to open the season. Blaine Manning scored the winner, his fourth goal of the game, with 38 seconds left in regulation time to seal the victory, and was named Overall Player of the Week.
* January 10, 2009: Jim Jennings announced his resignation as commissioner of the NLL, stating: "I feel that I have accomplished all the goals I set out to do at the NLL. I want to spend some time with my family before pursuing other opportunities and taking on the next challenge." NLL Deputy Commissioner and COO George Daniel was named Interim Commissioner.
* January 10, 2009: Gary Gait scored five goals in his return to the NLL, but Rochester lost to Philadelphia 16-13.
* January 16, 2009: In a 23-6 loss at Buffalo, the Rochester Knighthawks allowed the most goals in a single game in their history. The 17-point defeat was also their most lopsided loss ever.
* January 20, 2009: Only three games into the season, the Toronto Rock fired head coach Glenn Clark and assistant coach Terry Bullen and hired former Chicago Shamrox and Colorado Mammoth coach Jamie Batley as the new head coach. Assistant coach Jim Veltman was relieved of his coaching duties, but remained with the Rock as an advisor.
* February 10, 2009: The league announced that Dallas Eliuk and Jim Veltman will be inducted into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame in March, 2009.
* February 14, 2009: Mark Steenhuis of the Buffalo Bandits scored 13 assists and 17 points in a 25-10 win over Toronto breaking the league's single-game records for assists and points. The records were previously held by Derek Malawsky (11 assists in 2002) and John Grant Jr. (15 points in 2007) both of the Rochester Knighthawks.
* March 20, 2009: The San Jose Stealth announced that offensive coordinator Chris Hall has been named head coach, while former head coach Jeff Dowling will take over Hall's post as offensive coordinator.
* April 11, 2009: San Jose Stealth rookie Rhys Duch scored five goals and added three assists, giving him 86 points for the season, breaking Gavin Prout's rookie scoring record. In the same game, Stealth captain Colin Doyle tied Josh Sanderson's single-season assists record of 71.
* April 17, 2009: Calgary's Josh Sanderson finished the season with 74 assists, breaking his own single-season record of 71. The next night, Boston's Dan Dawson had five assists, tying him with Sanderson for the league lead and record.
* April 18, 2009: Rhys Duch extends his new rookie scoring record to 89, with one goal and two assists against the Toronto Rock.

### Post-season

* April 22, 2009: After missing the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years, the Philadelphia Wings fired GM Lindsay Sanderson. The Wings were 38-42 during Sanderson's five-year tenure, and only made the playoffs once.
* April 29, 2009: Toronto Rock Director of Lacrosse Operations Mike Kloepfer announced his resignation. The Rock were 19-29 in three years under Kloepfer, missing the playoffs in both 2008 and 2009.
* May 4, 2009: The Portland LumberJax announced that they will not be playing in Portland next season. Executive vice president Brian Silcott said that the team will not fold, but they are looking at either moving or selling the franchise; the franchise did fold, however.
* May 9, 2009: Both division final games featured outstanding performances by the winning goaltenders. In New York, Matt Vinc stopped 41 out of 44 shots and kept the Buffalo Bandits to only three goals as the Titans defeated Buffalo 9-3. In Calgary, Matt King shut the San Jose Stealth out for the first three quarters and even scored a goal of his own - the game-winner - as Calgary destroyed the Stealth 17-5.
* May 15, 2009: The Calgary Roughnecks defeated the New York Titans 12-10 to capture their second Champions Cup title.
* May 19, 2009: The Edmonton Rush fired head coach and GM Bob Hamley after finishing last in the West for the second straight season.

## All-Star game

The 2009 All-Star Game was held at Pepsi Center in Denver on March 7, 2009. The East beat the West 27-21 as Buffalo's Mark Steenhuis scored seven goals and six assists on his way to his third All-Star Game MVP award.

### All-Star teams

| Eastern Division starters | Western Division starters |
| - | - |
| Dan Dawson, Boston | Colin Doyle, San Jose |
| Casey Powell, New York * | Josh Sanderson, Calgary |
| Mark Steenhuis, Buffalo | Dan Teat, Edmonton |
| Geoff Snider, Philadelphia * | Brodie Merrill, Portland |
| Chris White, Buffalo | Bruce Murray, Colorado |
| Ken Montour, Buffalo (goalie) | Matt Disher, Portland (goalie) |
| Eastern Division reserves | Western Division reserves |
| Jason Crosbie, Toronto | Brian Langtry, Colorado |
| Gary Gait, Rochester | Peter Morgan, Portland |
| Pat Maddalena, New York | Gavin Prout, Colorado |
| John Tavares, Buffalo | Tracey Kelusky, Calgary |
| Roger Vyse, Buffalo | Jeff Zywicki, San Jose |
| Shawn Williams, Rochester | Nick Carlson, Colorado |
| Jordan Hall, New York | Jeff Shattler, Calgary |
| Mitch Belisle, Boston | Ryan Cousins, Minnesota |
| Greg Peyser, New York * | Ian Hawksbee, Edmonton |
| Kyle Sweeney, Philadelphia | Nick Inch, Minnesota |
| Cam Woods, Toronto * | Jeff Moleski, Calgary |
| Anthony Cosmo, Boston (goalie) | Andrew Leyshon, Colorado (goalie) |
| Drew Westervelt, Philadelphia (injury replacement) | |
| Brendan Mundorf, New York (injury replacement) | |
| Jarett Park, New York (injury replacement) | |
| Stephen Peyser, New York (injury replacement) | |

* Unable to play due to injury

## Awards

### Annual

| Award | Winner | Team |
| - | - | - |
| Most Valuable Player | Dan Dawson | Boston Blazers |
| Goaltender of the Year | Ken Montour | Buffalo Bandits |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Billy Dee Smith | Buffalo Bandits |
| Transition Player of the Year | Brodie Merrill | Portland Lumberjax |
| Rookie of the Year | Rhys Duch | San Jose Stealth |
| Sportsmanship Award | Dan Dawson | Boston Blazers |
| GM of the Year | Ed Comeau | New York Titans |
| Les Bartley Award | Troy Cordingley | Calgary Roughnecks |
| Executive of the Year Award | John J. Arlotta | Minnesota Swarm |
| Tom Borrelli Award | Paul Tutka | |

### All-Pro teams

First Team

* Dan Dawson, Boston
* Colin Doyle, San Jose
* Casey Powell, New York
* Brodie Merrill, Portland
* Billy Dee Smith, Buffalo
* Ken Montour, Buffalo

Second Team

* Josh Sanderson, Calgary
* John Tavares, Buffalo
* Jordan Hall, New York
* Mark Steenhuis, Buffalo
* Mac Allen, Rochester
* Anthony Cosmo, Boston

### All-Rookie team

* Rhys Duch, San Jose
* Daryl Veltman, Boston
* Kevin Buchanan, Minnesota
* Stephen Peyser, New York
* Jon Harnett, Boston
* Tyler Richards, San Jose

### Weekly awards

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

| Month | Week | Overall | Offensive | Defensive | Transition | Rookie |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| January | 1 | Blaine Manning | Casey Powell | Kevin Croswell | Scott Stewart | Andrew Watt |
| January | 2 | Gary Gait | Pat Maddalena | Ken Montour | Brodie Merrill | Sean Thomson |
| January | 3 | Mark Steenhuis | Mark Steenhuis | Ken Montour | Greg Peyser | Daryl Veltman |
| January | 4 | Dan Teat | Dan Dawson | Michael Thompson | Tyler Codron | Daryl Veltman |
| January | 5 | Matt Disher | Mike Accursi | Matt Disher | Curtis Hodgson | Matt Danowski |
| February | 6 | Gary Bining | Tracey Kelusky | Pat Campbell | Chris Driscoll | Gary Bining |
| February | 7 | Mark Steenhuis | Mark Steenhuis | Anthony Cosmo | Jason Bloom | Tyler Crompton |
| February | 8 | Dan Dawson | Mark Steenhuis | Jon Harnett | Bobby McBride | Rhys Duch |
| February | 9 | Shawn Evans | Shawn Evans | Matt Disher | Kyle Ross | Kevin Buchanan |
| March | 10 | Shawn Evans | Shawn Evans | Sandy Chapman | Pat McCready | Kevin Buchanan |
| March | 11 | Bob Watson | John Tavares | Ken Montour | Paul Rabil | Tyler Crompton |
| March | 12 | Athan Iannucci | Andy Secore | Matt Vinc | Brodie Merrill | Rhys Duch |
| March | 13 | John Tavares | Colin Doyle | Tyler Richards | Brodie Merrill | Rhys Duch |
| April | 14 | Anthony Cosmo | Merrick Thomson | Matt Disher | Scott Stewart | Rhys Duch |
| April | 15 | Pat O'Toole | Sean Morris | Ray Guze | Steve Toll | Daryl Veltman |

### Monthly awards

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

| Month | Overall | Rookie |
| - | - | - |
| January | Casey Powell | Daryl Veltman |
| February | Mark Steenhuis | Daryl Veltman |
| March | Bob Watson | Rhys Duch |

## Statistics leaders

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

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Goals | Mark Steenhuis | Buffalo | 51 |
| Goals | John Tavares | Buffalo | 51 |
| Assists | Dan Dawson | Boston | 74 |
| Assists | Josh Sanderson | Calgary | 74 |
| Points | Colin Doyle | San Jose | 111 |
| Penalty Minutes | Eric Martin | San Jose | 89 |
| Shots on Goal | Mark Steenhuis | Buffalo | 186 |
| Loose Balls | Geoff Snider | Philadelphia | 220 |
| Save Pct | Ken Montour | Buffalo | .813 |
| GAA | Ken Montour | Buffalo | 9.57 |

## Attendance

### Regular Season

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| - | - | - | - |
| Buffalo Bandits | 8 | 17,947 | 143,581 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 8 | 16,475 | 131,800 |
| Toronto Rock | 8 | 13,921 | 111,372 |
| Minnesota Swarm | 8 | 12,308 | 98,465 |
| Philadelphia Wings | 8 | 10,537 | 84,299 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 8 | 10,398 | 83,189 |
| Edmonton Rush | 8 | 8,347 | 66,783 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 8 | 7,516 | 60,132 |
| Portland LumberJax | 8 | 7,320 | 58,564 |
| Boston Blazers | 8 | 6,620 | 52,966 |
| New York Titans | 8 | 4,692 | 37,542 |
| San Jose Stealth | 8 | 4,129 | 33,038 |
| League | 96 | 10,018 | 961,731 |

### Playoffs

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| - | - | - | - |
| Buffalo Bandits | 1 | 13,343 | 13,343 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 3 | 10,813 | 32,441 |
| Portland LumberJax | 1 | 6,053 | 6,053 |
| New York Titans | 2 | 5,261 | 10,522 |
| League | 7 | 8,908 | 62,359 |
