| 2002 NLL season | |
| League: | National Lacrosse League |
| Sport: | Indoor lacrosse |
| Pixels: | 100px |
| No Of Teams: | 13 |
| No Of Games: | 16 |
| Duration: | November 16, 2001 – April 13, 2002 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Mvp: | Paul Gait (Washington Power) |
| Mvp Link: | National Lacrosse League MVP Award |
| Top Scorer: | Paul Gait (Washington Power) |
| Top Scorer Link: | 2002 NLL season |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Conf1: | Eastern |
| Conf1 Champ: | Washington Power |
| Conf1 Runner-Up: | Philadelphia Wings |
| Conf2: | Central |
| Conf2 Champ: | Albany Attack |
| Conf2 Runner-Up: | Rochester Knighthawks |
| Conf3: | Northern |
| Conf3 Champ: | Toronto Rock |
| Conf3 Runner-Up: | Vancouver Ravens |
| Finals: | Champion's Cup |
| Finals Link: | Champion's Cup |
| Finals Champ: | Toronto Rock |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Albany Attack |
| Finals Mvp: | Colin Doyle (Toronto) |
| Finals Mvp Link: | Champion's Cup#Most Valuable Players |
| Seasonslistnames: | NLL |
| Prevseason Link: | 2001 NLL season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2001 season |
| Nextseason Link: | 2003 NLL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2003 season |
| Tv: | CNN Sports Illustrated (United States) Rogers Sportsnet (Canada) |
The 2002 National Lacrosse League season is the 16th season in the NLL. The season began on November 16, 2001 and concluded with the championship game on April 13, 2002, so, during that season, it was known as the 2001-2002 season as can be seen in the Albany Attack's 2001-2002 Central Division Championship banner.
The Toronto Rock defeated the Albany Attack 13–12 to win their third championship in four seasons. Colin Doyle was named championship game MVP for the second time.
Only one year after the season was lengthened to 14 games, 2002 saw it extended again, this time to 16 games.
2002 was a year of expansion for the NLL, particularly north of the border. No less than four teams were added, three of them Canadian: the New Jersey Storm, Montreal Express, Vancouver Ravens, and Calgary Roughnecks all made their NLL debuts. The expansion caused the NLL to return to a divisional format for the first time since 1994. The teams were split into the Eastern, Central, and Northern divisions; the winners of each division would make the playoffs, as well as the top three ranked non-division-winners. The Eastern division consisted of Washington, Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey, the Central division had Albany, Rochester, Montreal, Buffalo, and Columbus, while the remaining Canadian teams (Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Calgary) were in the Northern division.
Early in the morning of February 14, limousine driver Costas Christofi was found shot to death at the home of New Jersey Storm owner Jayson Williams.[1] Williams was later arrested and charged with manslaughter.[2] Williams was acquitted of most charges,[3] but was to be retried for reckless manslaughter. However, the case was delayed several times. On Monday, January 11, 2010, Williams pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in the case,[4] and was sentenced on February 23, 2010. Williams would remain owner of the Storm until the franchise folded after the 2005 season.
For the first time in league history, a team changed arenas midseason, as the Ottawa Rebel left the Corel Centre for the smaller Ottawa Civic Centre.[5] There were two home games left in the season at the time of the move.
| 2002 National Lacrosse League | |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | Albany Attack | Albany, New York | Pepsi Arena | 14,236 | |
| Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | HSBC Arena | 18,690 | ||
| Columbus Landsharks | Columbus, Ohio | Nationwide Arena | 18,136 | ||
| Montreal Express | Montreal, Quebec | Molson Centre | 21,273 | ||
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Blue Cross Arena | 10,662 | ||
| East | New Jersey Storm | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Izod Center | 19,040 | |
| New York Saints | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 16,234 | ||
| Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | First Union Center | 19,519 | ||
| Washington Power | Landover, Maryland | Capital Centre | 18,130 | ||
| North | Calgary Roughnecks | Calgary, Alberta | Pengrowth Saddledome | 19,289 | |
| Ottawa Rebel | Ottawa, Ontario | Corel Centre Ottawa Civic Centre | 18,500 10,550 | ||
| Toronto Rock | Toronto, Ontario | Air Canada Centre | 18,800 | ||
| Vancouver Ravens | Vancouver, British Columbia | General Motors Place | 18,514 | ||
The 2002 All-Star Game was held on April 21 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, where the North team (all of the Canadian teams plus Rochester) beat the South 14–10. The MVP was Toronto's Steve Toll, who scored three goals. At the time, this also marked Paul Gait's final professional lacrosse game, as he retired after this season. However, Gait was convinced by his brother Gary to come out of retirement during the 2005 season, and played four games for the Colorado Mammoth before retiring once again.
| North Team starters | South Team starters | |
|---|---|---|
| John Grant, Jr., Rochester | Paul Gait, Washington | |
| Colin Doyle, Toronto | Gary Gait, Washington | |
| Chris Gill, Vancouver | Josh Sanderson, Albany | |
| Pat Coyle, Toronto | Cam Woods, Albany | |
| Jim Veltman, Toronto | Paul Cantabene, Philadelphia | |
| Bob Watson, Toronto (goalie) | Rob Blasdell, Albany (goalie) | |
| North Team Reserves | South Team Reserves | |
| Tracey Kelusky, Montreal | Gary Rosyski, Albany | |
| Ryan Painter, Ottawa | Roy Colsey, Buffalo | |
| Peter Morgan, Vancouver | John Tavares, Buffalo | |
| Steve Toll, Toronto | Gewas Schindler, Columbus | |
| Kaleb Toth, Calgary | Gavin Prout, New York | |
| Shawn Williams, Rochester | Kevin Finneran, Philadelphia | |
| Derek Malawsky, Rochester | Tom Marechek, Philadelphia | |
| Bruce Codd, Montreal | Jim Moss, Albany | |
| Darren Reisig, Vancouver | Jamie Hanford, New Jersey | |
| Mike Hasen, Rochester | Pat McCabe, New York | |
| Dwight Maetche, Vancouver | Steve Dietrich, Buffalo (goalie) | |
| Pat O'Toole, Rochester | Dallas Eliuk, Philadelphia (goalie) | |
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP Award | Paul Gait | Washington |
| Rookie of the Year Award | Blaine Manning | Toronto |
| Coach of the Year | Bob McMahon | Albany |
| GM of the Year Award | Dave Evans | Vancouver |
| Executive of the Year Award | Tom Mayenknecht | Vancouver |
| Defensive Player of the Year Award | Pat Coyle | Toronto |
| Goaltender of the Year Award | Rob Blasdell | Albany |
| Sportsmanship Award | Jim Veltman | Toronto |
| Championship Game MVP | Colin Doyle | Toronto |
In 2002, the NLL expanded its weekly player awards from one to four. There are now awards for the best overall player, best offensive player, best defensive player, and best rookie.
| Week | Overall | Offensive | Defensive | Rookie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Stroup | Matt Disher | Blaine Manning | |
| 2 | Tracey Kelusky | Bruce Codd | Blaine Manning | |
| 3 | Tracey Kelusky | Dwight Maetche | Peter Morgan | |
| 4 | Gavin Prout | |||
| 5 | Gary Gait | Steve Dietrich | Andrew Leyshon | |
| 6 | Kyle Goundrey | Kyle Goundrey | Rob Blasdell | Peter Morgan |
| 7 | Jesse Phillips | Billy LeFeuvre | ||
| 8 | Derek Malawsky | Devin Dalep | Kasey Beirnes | |
| 9 | Gewas Schindler | Gewas Schindler | Mike Miron | |
| 10 | Peter Morgan | Devin Dalep | Peter Morgan | |
| 11 | Paul Gait | Paul Gait | Kasey Beirnes | |
| 12 | Gary Gait | Bruce Codd | Blaine Manning | |
| 13 | Chris Gill | Chris Gill | Rob Blasdell | Ryan Painter |
| 14 | Shawn Williams | Matt Roik | Gavin Prout | |
| 15 | John Tavares | John Tavares | Jesse Phillips | Mike Miron |
| 16 | Jeff Ratcliffe | Blaine Manning | ||
| 17 | Paul Gait | Paul Gait | Steve Penny | |
| 18 | John Grant, Jr. | Chris Sanderson | Blaine Manning | |
| 19 | Tom Marechek | John Tavares | Rob Blasdell | Ryan Painter |
Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
| Month | Overall | Rookie | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov/Dec | Tracy Kelusky | none selected | |
| Jan | Paul Gait | Kasey Beirnes | |
| Feb | Chris Gill | Gavin Prout | |
| Mar | Paul Gait | Blaine Manning |
Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.
| Stat | Player | Team | Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | Paul Gait | Washington | 54 | |
| Assists | Josh Sanderson | Albany | 68 | |
| Points | Paul Gait | Washington | 114 | |
| Penalty Minutes | Brian Reese | Washington | 78 | |
| Loose Balls | Jim Veltman | Toronto | 203 | |
| Save Pct | Rob Blasdell | Albany | 77.5 |
| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance[8] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Rock | 8 | 15,689 | 125,513 | |
| Philadelphia Wings | 8 | 13,668 | 109,342 | |
| Vancouver Ravens | 8 | 10,211 | 81,689 | |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 8 | 8,945 | 71,559 | |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 8 | 8,781 | 70,249 | |
| Montréal Express | 8 | 7,969 | 63,755 | |
| Buffalo Bandits | 8 | 7,448 | 59,582 | |
| Ottawa Rebel | 8 | 5,937 | 47,498 | |
| New Jersey Storm | 8 | 5,677 | 45,414 | |
| New York Saints | 8 | 5,259 | 42,074 | |
| Columbus Landsharks | 8 | 4,129 | 33,029 | |
| Albany Attack | 8 | 3,508 | 28,066 | |
| Washington Power | 8 | 3,330 | 26,638 | |
| League | 104 | 7,735 | 804,408 |
| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Rock | 1 | 14,442 | 14,442 | |
| Philadelphia Wings | 1 | 10,041 | 10,041 | |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 1 | 8,266 | 8,266 | |
| Albany Attack | 2 | 7,182 | 14,363 | |
| League | 5 | 9,422 | 47,112 |
