1997 Major Indoor Lacrosse League season

Sports season

1997 MILL season

League| Major Indoor Lacrosse League
Sport| Indoor lacrosse
Duration| January 4, 1997 - April 12, 1997
Number of games| 10
Number of teams| 6
TV partner(s)| ESPN and ESPN2
Regular season
League champions| Philadelphia Wings
Runners-up| New York Saints
Season MVP| Gary Gait (Baltimore Thunder)
Top scorer| Gary Gait (Baltimore Thunder)
Champion's Cup
Champions| Rochester Knighthawks
Runners-up| Buffalo Bandits
Finals MVP| Steve Dietrich (Rochester)
MILL/NLL seasons

← 1996 season

1998 season →

The 1997 season is the 11th season of the league and, is the last as the MILL, began on January 4, 1997, and concluded with the championship game on April 12. The league was renamed to the National Lacrosse League after this season.

## Team movement

[edit]

The Charlotte Cobras, who debuted in the 1996 Major Indoor Lacrosse League season, folded after only a single winless season.

### Teams

[edit]

Thunder

Blazers

Bandits

Saints

Wings

Knighthawks

Major Indoor Lacrosse League Teams

1997 Major Indoor Lacrosse League

Team | City | Arena | Capacity
Baltimore Thunder | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Arena | 10,582
Boston Blazers | Boston, Massachusetts | FleetCenter | 17,850
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 | CoreStates Center | 19,463
Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Rochester Community War Memorial | 10,662

## Regular season

[edit]

Reference: [1]

P| Team| GP| W| L| PCT| GB| Home| Road| GF| GA| Diff| GF/GP| GA/GP

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| | | | | | | | | | | | |
1| Philadelphia Wings - xyz| 10| 7| 3| .700| 0.0| 3-2| 4-1| 137| 115| +22| 13.70| 11.50
2| New York Saints - x| 10| 6| 4| .600| 1.0| 4-1| 2-3| 134| 127| +7| 13.40| 12.70
3| Buffalo Bandits - x| 10| 6| 4| .600| 1.0| 3-2| 3-2| 158| 153| +5| 15.80| 15.30
4| Rochester Knighthawks - x| 10| 5| 5| .500| 2.0| 2-3| 3-2| 156| 135| +21| 15.60| 13.50
5| Boston Blazers| 10| 4| 6| .400| 3.0| 3-2| 1-4| 120| 135| −15| 12.00| 13.50
6| Baltimore Thunder| 10| 2| 8| .200| 5.0| 1-4| 1-4| 125| 165| −40| 12.50| 16.50

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

## All Star Game

[edit]

No All-Star Game was played in 1997.

## Playoffs

[edit]

| Semifinals | | | Championship |

|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| 2 | New York | 10 | |
| 3 | Buffalo | 19 |
| | 4 | Rochester | 15 |
|  |
| | | 3 | Buffalo | 12 |
| 4 | Rochester | 15 |

| 1 | Philadelphia | 13 |

## Awards

[edit]

Award  | Winner  | Team

|
|

MVP Award | Gary Gait | Philadelphia
Rookie of the Year Award | Jeff Wilfong  | Boston
Championship Game MVP  | Steve Dietrich | Rochester

### Weekly awards

[edit]

Each week, a player is awarded "Player of the Week" honours.

Week | Player of the Week

|

1  | Paul Gait
2  | Roy Colsey
3  | Sal LoCascio
4  | Paul Gait
5  | Paul Gait
6  | John Tavares
7  | Derek Collins
8  | Thomas Carmean
9  | Matt Panetta
10  | Tom Marechek
11  | Ted Dowling
12  | Dallas Eliuk

### Monthly awards

[edit]

An award is also given out monthly for the best overall player.

Month | Player of the Month

|

Jan  | Paul Gait
Feb  | Derek Collins
Mar  | Tom Marechek

### All-Pro Teams

[edit]

First Team:

* Gary Gait, Philadelphia
* Paul Gait, Rochester
* Tom Marechek, Philadelphia
* Mark Millon, New York
* John Tavares, Buffalo
* Dallas Eliuk, Philadelphia (goalie)

Second Team:

* Thomas Carmean, Boston
* Duane Jacobs, Rochester
* Darris Kilgour, Buffalo
* Jeff Klodzen, Baltimore
* Bob Martino, Baltimore
* Sal LoCascio, New York (goalie)

## Statistics leaders

[edit]

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

Stat | Player | Team | Number

|
|
|

Goals | Gary Gait | Philadelphia | 40
Assists | Gary Gait | Philadelphia | 32
Points | Gary Gait | Philadelphia | 72
Penalty Minutes | Tom Phair | Buffalo | 58
Shots on Goal | Paul Gait | Rochester | 131
Loose Balls | John Tavares | Buffalo | 104

## Attendance

[edit]

### Regular Season

[edit]

Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance[2]

|
|
|

Buffalo Bandits  | 5  | 17,533  | 87,665
Philadelphia Wings  | 5  | 13,875  | 69,336
New York Saints  | 5  | 7,268  | 36,338
Rochester Knighthawks  | 5  | 6,570  | 32,852
Boston Blazers  | 5  | 6,149  | 30,743
Baltimore Thunder  | 5  | 5,018  | 25,091
League | 30 | 9,401 | 282,025

### Playoffs

[edit]

Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance[2]

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|
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Buffalo Bandits  | 2  | 15,085  | 30,170
Philadelphia Wings  | 1  | 9,372  | 9,372
League | 3 | 13,181 | 39,542

## See also

[edit]

* 1997 in sports

## References

[edit]

* 1997 Archive at the Outsider's Guide to the NLL[usurped]

1. ^ "National Lacrosse League - 1997 Regular Season - Standings". NLL.com. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
2. ^ a b "1997 Season". nllstats.com. Retrieved 16 June 2023.

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