Safekipedia1998 NLL season
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
The 1998 season marked an important change for the sport of indoor lacrosse. Before this season began, the Major Indoor Lacrosse League was renamed to the National Lacrosse League. This change also meant the teams would play more games, increasing the regular season from ten to twelve games.
The first game of the new season took place on January 3, 1998, and the season ended with the championship games on April 28. The championship was a best-two-of-three series. The Philadelphia Wings faced the Baltimore Thunder and won both games, finishing the series with scores of 16–12 and 17–12. This victory showed the Philadelphia Wings as the strong team of that season.
Team movement
The 1998 season saw two new teams join and one leave. The Boston Blazers stopped playing after nine seasons in Boston and New England. Meanwhile, the Ontario Raiders and Syracuse Smash started their first seasons.
Teams
Map of teams
| 1998 National Lacrosse League | |||||
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity | ||
| Baltimore Thunder | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Arena | 10,582 | ||
| Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | Marine Midland Arena | 18,595 | ||
| New York Saints | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 16,297 | ||
| Ontario Raiders | Hamilton, Ontario | Copps Coliseum | 17,383 | ||
| Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | CoreStates Center | 19,511 | ||
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Rochester Community War Memorial | 10,662 | ||
| Syracuse Smash | Syracuse, New York | Onondaga County War Memorial | 5,800 | ||
Regular season
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
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia Wings – xyz | 12 | 9 | 3 | .750 | 0.0 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 166 | 148 | +18 | 13.83 | 12.33 |
| 2 | Baltimore Thunder – x | 12 | 8 | 4 | .667 | 1.0 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 184 | 160 | +24 | 15.33 | 13.33 |
| 3 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | 3.0 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 168 | 159 | +9 | 14.00 | 13.25 |
| 4 | Buffalo Bandits – x | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | 3.0 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 166 | 171 | −5 | 13.83 | 14.25 |
| 5 | Ontario Raiders | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | 3.0 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 165 | 157 | +8 | 13.75 | 13.08 |
| 6 | New York Saints | 12 | 5 | 7 | .417 | 4.0 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 167 | 165 | +2 | 13.92 | 13.75 |
| 7 | Syracuse Smash | 12 | 2 | 10 | .167 | 7.0 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 163 | 219 | −56 | 13.58 | 18.25 |
All Star Game
In 1998, there was no All-Star Game played.
Playoffs
The championship games were played between the Philadelphia Wings and the Baltimore Thunder. In the first game, Philadelphia won 16–12. In the second game, they won again, this time 17–12, to become the league champions.
Awards
Each week during the 1998 season, one player was chosen as "Player of the Week."
Awards were also given out once a month for the best overall player and the best new player, called the Rookie of the Month. This was the first season that the Rookie of the Month award was given.
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP Award | Gary Gait | Baltimore |
| Rookie of the Year Award | Colin Doyle | Ontario |
| Championship Game MVP (Series) | Dallas Eliuk | Philadelphia |
| Championship Game MVP (Game 1) | Dallas Eliuk | Philadelphia |
| Championship Game MVP (Game 2) | Bill Miller | Philadelphia |
| Week | Player of the Week |
|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Gait |
| 2 | Andy Piazza |
| 3 | Derek Collins |
| 4 | Chris Gill |
| 5 | Eric Seremet |
| 6 | Tom Marechek |
| 7 | Gary Gait |
| 8 | Darris Kilgour |
| 9 | Derek General |
| 10 | Russ Heard |
| 11 | Colin Doyle |
| 12 | Steve Sombrotto |
| 13 | Mark Millon |
| 14 | John Tavares |
| 15 | Bob Watson |
| Month | Overall | Rookie |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | Gary Gait | Curt Malawsky |
| Feb | Darris Kilgour | Jake Bergey |
| Mar | Mark Millon | Colin Doyle |
Statistics leaders
The statistics for the 1998 NLL season show the top performers. Bold numbers mean new best scores for a single season, and italic numbers mean scores that tied previous bests.
| Stat | Player | Team | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | Gary Gait | Baltimore | 57 |
| Assists | Jim Veltman | Ontario | 40 |
| Points | Gary Gait | Baltimore | 85 |
| Penalty Minutes | Pat Coyle | Ontario | 48 |
| Shots on Goal | Gary Gait | Baltimore | 156 |
| Loose Balls | Jim Veltman | Ontario | 194 |
| Save Pct | Steve Dietrich | Rochester | 77.9 |
Attendance
Regular season
Playoffs
| Home team | Home games | Average attendance | Total attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Wings | 6 | 14,197 | 85,182 |
| Buffalo Bandits | 6 | 12,256 | 73,534 |
| New York Saints | 6 | 6,725 | 40,349 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 6 | 6,706 | 40,234 |
| Baltimore Thunder | 6 | 5,378 | 32,269 |
| Ontario Thunder | 6 | 4,810 | 28,862 |
| Syracuse Smash | 6 | 4,230 | 25,378 |
| League | 42 | 7,757 | 325,808 |
| Home team | Home games | Average attendance | Total attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Wings | 2 | 9,288 | 19,655 |
| Baltimore Thunder | 2 | 3,282 | 6,564 |
| League | 4 | 6,555 | 26,219 |
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on 1998 NLL season, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.