IL Indoor

Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Edmonton Rush, Minnesota Swarm, National Lacrosse League, Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, Toronto Rock, Washington Stealth

NLL announces All-Green Team ambassadors for green initiatives

The National Lacrosse League has announced the first-ever NLL All-Green Team. The players were selected by their respective teams to serve as ambassadors for green initiatives for their leadership qualities both on and off the field along with their commitment to making a difference in their team’s local community while promoting environmental awareness.

“It’s important that we do our part to raise awareness for greening efforts in order to protect our natural resources,” said NLL Commissioner George Daniel. “We’re pleased to announce a select group of players that will help us raise awareness in their home team markets and beyond.”

The All-Green Team is part of the league’s partnership with the Green Sports Alliance, a non-profit organization with a mission to help sports teams, venues and leagues enhance their environmental performance. The league’s partnership with Green Sports Alliance began in 2011. READ MORE »

Edmonton Rush, IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League

Edmonton Rush dismiss President Jamieson

Dave Jamieson

Dave Jamieson said the contract he signed 8 months ago to be president of the National Lacrosse League’s Edmonton Rush was a “contract without an ending, so when we embarked on this, it was, ‘Well, let’s do a season and see how it goes’,” he told QMI Agency. However, Jamieson discovered that the contract does end, and it came on Wednesday. “I was informed that the Rush was going to go obviously in a different direction that doesn’t include me.” Jamieson was brought in to help spark ticket sales for the team, but despite a second straight NLL playoff berth, the team saw a decline in average attendance for the sixth straight season. Jamieson said he believed his position would not be filled, but no one in the Rush front office was offering comment or explanation for the move.

Behind the Scenes, Edmonton Rush, National Lacrosse League

Rush sign GM/Head Coach Derek Keenan to two-year contract

The Edmonton Rush announced today that General Manager and Head Coach Derek Keenan signed a two year agreement.  Keenan enters his fifth year as General Manager and Head Coach for the team .

“We have full confidence in the direction Derek Keenan is taking this team, this past season was another strong campaign that provided a good look into the exciting potential of the club”  states Owner and Governor Bruce Urban.

“Keenan is the finest coach in pro lacrosse at pre game preparation for his players,  if this team executes the game plan night in and night out,  get ready for some winning seasons.” READ MORE »

Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Edmonton Rush, IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League, Rochester Knighthawks, Toronto Rock, Washington Stealth

IL Indoor Awards: Shawn Evans is named Offensive Player of the Year

Shawn Evans (left) is the unanimous winner of IL Indoor's Offensive Player of the Year. (Photo: Brad Watson)

It’s hard to reach unanimity when you have 10 people voting for awards based on largely subjective criteria. But unanimity is just what IL Indoor’s staffers wound up with when it came to the voting on the National Lacrosse League’s Offensive Player of the Year. Shawn Evans just had that good of a season and that big of an impact.

His 112 points was the fifth-most in NLL history. His 80 assists is one of the all-time great set-up seasons as well.Evans is so impressive because he is so difficult to stop. He’s small, but it’s nearly impossible to pound him out of his game with big defenders; he’ll just hit somebody in the mesh with a flip pass as you’re knocking him to the ground. If you leave him room to shoot, he’ll bury a bounce shot or rip a low to high under the cross-bar. Let him come out from behind the net and he has the best spinning release in the game. READ MORE »

Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Edmonton Rush, Minnesota Swarm, National Lacrosse League, Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, Toronto Rock, Washington Stealth

NLL 2013 All-Pro Teams Announced

Callum Crawford earned his first NLL All-Pro nod after a big 2013 campaign.

The National Lacrosse League has announced the NLL All-Pro Teams for the 2013 season. Six of the 12 players honored are first-time selections, four teams had two All-Pros and three honorees will play in the 2013 NLL Championship Game presented by Reebok this weekend.

The 2013 NLL All-Pro First Team consists of Toronto Rock forward Garrett Billings, Washington Stealth forward Rhys Duch, Calgary Roughnecks forward Shawn Evans, Minnesota Swarm transition player Jordan MacIntosh, Edmonton Rush defenseman Kyle Rubisch, and Rochester Knighthawks goaltender Matt Vinc. READ MORE »

Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Edmonton Rush, Minnesota Swarm, National Lacrosse League, Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, Toronto Rock, Washington Stealth

IL Indoor Roundtable: What were the weekend’s surprises other than the Swarm, and what’s going on with the Rush?

Callum Crawford and the Swarm will hope to capture the same magic they had last week. (Photo: Graig Abel)

Ahh, the playoffs. The first weekend saw four games with plenty of storylines. Matt Vinc continued his run of dominance as the Knighthawks downed the Wings to return to the East Division final. Out west, Colorado looked good for the first half and really not good for the second half against Calgary, as the Roughnecks rebounded from last year’s first-round loss to get back to the West Division final. Washington had a remarkable comeback to down the Rush. But the story that sticks out like a sore thumb is the surprising domination of the Rock by the Swarm. What other surprises did the IL Indoor Roundtable group of Bob Chavez, Teddy Jenner, Ty Pilson and Stephen Stamp see? Also, whither the Rush? What do we think of their flirtations with Saskatoon? Make the jump to find out. READ MORE »

Edmonton Rush, IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League

Rush emphasize commitment to Edmonton

With a talented young core in place, the Rush are contenders for the foreseeable future. In Edmonton. (Photo: Dan Brodie)

The Edmonton Rush have been upfront on the talks they’ve had about the possibility of the National Lacrosse League having a team in Saskatoon. But what kinda got lost in the shuffle of reports earlier this week is that the interested group contacted the Rush. Not the other way around. And in that light, team president Dave Jamieson emphasized the commitment of team owner Bruce Urban to keep the team in Edmonton. “Talking to Bruce Urban, he remains committed to the city of Edmonton, the game of lacrosse and the team,” Jamieson told The Edmonton Journal. “He’s never wavered in his belief that this sport and his team could succeed here.” The team released a statement saying as much and that season-ticket renewals for 2014 — in Edmonton — are in full swing. Check out the Journal story for more depth and insight from Jamieson, who does a great job in explaining what pro sports franchises are up against.

Edmonton Rush, IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League

National Lacrosse League Defensive Player of the Year: Edmonton’s Kyle Rubisch

Kyle Rubisch, left, was named the top NLL defender for the second straight season. (Photo: Dale MacMillan)

The National Lacrosse League has announced that Kyle Rubisch from the Edmonton Rush has won the Defensive Player of the Year Award for the 2013 NLL season. As the leader of a defensive unit that allowed the second-fewest goals in the league, Rubisch recorded 11 points (3+8), ranked first among NLL defensemen with 128 loose balls, and led the league with 44 forced turnovers to break the NLL single-season record of 43 that he set in 2012. “Kyle earned this,” said Rush general manager and head coach Derek Keenan. “He is the most dominant, shutdown, game-changing defender in all of lacrosse. He is the leader of a very young and talented group of defender and transition guys.” READ MORE »

Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Edmonton Rush, IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League, Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, Washington Stealth

NLL playoffs: Roughnecks, Stealth and Knighthawks move on to division finals

The Roughnecks and Stealth will face off again in the West Division final after the two top seeds won their semi-final games Saturday night. (Photo: Brad Watson)

Both of Saturday night’s National Lacrosse League West Division semi-finals were decided largely from the results of 5-minute major penalties in the third quarter. Washington took advantage of Jeff Cornwall’s second major of the game—a checking from behind call at 14:12 of the third to score a pair of fourth-quarter power play goals that gave them just enough to hold on and grab a stunning 12-11 come-from-behind win over the Edmonton Rush. In Calgary, the Roughnecks turned that tale on its head. They opened the second half with a pair of shorthanded goals while Curtis Dickson watched with relief from the penalty box. They pulled away from a 7-7 halftime tie and never looked back in a 15-10 win that means they’ll host the Stealth in next weekend’s West final. Rochester downed Philadelphia 10-8 in Saturday’s East Division final. READ MORE »

Behind the Scenes, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Edmonton Rush, Minnesota Swarm, National Lacrosse League, Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, Toronto Rock, Washington Stealth

Let the Playoffs begin: three games tonight, one Sunday in National Lacrosse League post-season opening weekend

It’s playoff time in the National Lacrosse League. Everything is amplified just that little bit. Every goal seems bigger. Every save seems more important. Around the NLL, final preparations are being put in place for the opening weekend of playoffs. Judging by Facebook and Twitter comments, it’s hard to say who’s more excited between the players and the fans. So today, we’ll help you get ready with a giant-sized helping of press releases and stories from around the league to whet your appetite for the games in Calgary and Washington tonight then tomorrow’s Sunday matinee in Toronto. There’s going to be a lot of ink spilled below, but we’ll break it down by game so you can navigate your way through. Feel free to scroll down to the coverage of your favourite team’s game. And if you make it all the way through, kudos. Enjoy the coverage and the games. It’s playoff time in the NLL and we can hardly wait for the games. READ MORE »