2007 NLL season

Teams

necks](calgary-roughnecks)**}}

Final standings

Toronto won the 3-way tiebreaker with Philadelphia and Chicago due to their 5–7 record against divisional opponents (Philadelphia was 4–8, and Chicago was 5–8).

Calgary won the 3-way tiebreaker with Arizona and San Jose because of their head-to-head record (Calgary was 2–1 against Arizona and 1–1 against San Jose, while San Jose went 0–2 against Arizona).

Playoffs

| RD1-group1= Eastern Division | RD1-group2= Western Division | RD1-seed1= 1 | RD1-team1= Rochester | RD1-score1= 10 | RD1-seed2= 4 | RD1-team2= Toronto | RD1-score2= 6 | RD1-seed3= 2 | RD1-team3= Buffalo | RD1-score3= 14 | RD1-seed4= 3 | RD1-team4= Minnesota | RD1-score4= 8 | RD1-seed5= 1 | RD1-team5= Colorado | RD1-score5= 14 | RD1-seed6= 4 | RD1-team6= San Jose | RD1-score6= 15 (OT) | RD1-seed7= 2 | RD1-team7= Calgary | RD1-score7= 9 | RD1-seed8= 3 | RD1-team8= Arizona | RD1-score8= 13 | RD2-seed1= 1 | RD2-team1= Rochester | RD2-score1= 14 (OT) | RD2-seed2= 2 | RD2-team2= Buffalo | RD2-score2= 13 | RD2-seed3= 3 | RD2-team3= Arizona | RD2-score3= 9 | RD2-seed4= 4 | RD2-team4= San Jose | RD2-score4= 7 | RD3-seed1= E1 | RD3-team1= Rochester | RD3-score1= 13 | RD3-seed2= W3 | RD3-team2= Arizona | RD3-score2= 11

The Knighthawks had the overall top seed in the playoffs, but were unable to host the Championship game due to a scheduling conflict at the Blue Cross Arena.

Team movement

The 2007 season features two new expansion teams, both in the East Division: the Chicago Shamrox and the New York Titans.

Rule changes

A number of rule changes were made for the 2007 season. The main changes are:

• Cross-checks to the head are more severely punished
• Cross-checking a player without the ball is now illegal
• Scoring from behind the net is now allowed, provided there is no contact between the ball and the goalie or his equipment (this effectively allows the "Air Gait" move invented by Gary Gait)
• When a penalty shot is awarded, the coach can choose any player on the team to take the shot

Milestones

• January 6:
  • Chicago and New York played their first ever games
  • Chicago recorded its first win and first home win
  • New York's first goal was scored by Gewas Schindler
  • Chicago's first goal was scored by Jason Clark
  • Edmonton won its first ever home game, defeating the Philadelphia Wings 13–12
• January 12: San Jose beat Calgary 17–16 in overtime in the longest game in NLL history. The game lasted 71 minutes and 42 seconds before Luke Wiles scored at 11:42 of overtime, narrowly beating the old record of 70:45 during an Arizona-Anaheim game in 2004.
• January 20: New York records its first win and first home win at Madison Square Garden with an 11–9 victory over the Chicago Shamrox. The game is also the first loss for the Shamrox.
• January 26: New York plays their first game at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, losing 16–11 to the Philadelphia Wings. The New York Titans will split their home games between the Coliseum and Madison Square Garden.
• January 27: Rochester Knighthawk star John Grant Jr. sets a new NLL record for points in a single game with 15 (9 goals, 6 assists) in a 22–18 defeat of the New York Titans.
• February 22: After a 12–9 loss to Toronto, the Calgary Roughnecks fired head coach Chris Hall, the only coach in team history.
• March 24: Calgary teammates Kaleb Toth and Tracey Kelusky both reach 500 career points in the same game, as Jeff Dowling wins his first game as head coach.
• March 31:
  • Rochester beats Philadelphia 12–10 in Rochester, setting a new franchise record with their ninth consecutive win.
  • The 1,000th regular-season game in league history is played at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, with Colorado defeating Minnesota 11–9.
• April 6: The Calgary Roughnecks play their 100th game in franchise history against the Edmonton Rush at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary.

All Star Game

The 2007 All-Star Game was held at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon on March 10, 2007. The East won the game 20–16, on the strength of Mark Steenhuis' six goals. Steenhuis was named game MVP. Steenhuis was also named game MVP in the 2004 All-Star game, and became the first player in NLL history to be named All-Star Game MVP twice. The game was broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio; Travis Demers and Martin Wright called the action.

All-Star teams

• Unable to play for personal reasons

** Unable to play due to injury

*** Unable to play due to family commitments

Awards

Annual

All-Pro Teams

First Team

• John Tavares, Buffalo
• John Grant, Jr., Rochester
• Dan Dawson, Arizona
• Steve Toll, Rochester
• Ryan Cousins, Minnesota
• Anthony Cosmo, San Jose

Second Team

• Gavin Prout, Colorado
• Colin Doyle, San Jose
• Casey Powell, New York
• Lewis Ratcliff, Calgary
• Shawn Williams, Rochester
• Nick Patterson, Minnesota

All-Rookie Team

• Ryan Benesch, Toronto
• Geoff Snider, Philadelphia
• Athan Iannucci, Philadelphia
• Bill McGlone, Chicago
• Nenad Gajic, Colorado
• Jamie Shewchuk, Colorado

Weekly awards

The NLL gives out awards weekly for the best overall player, best offensive player, best transition player (new for 2007), best defensive player, and best rookie.

Monthly awards

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

Statistics leaders

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

Attendance

Regular season

Playoffs

References

References

1. (April 30, 2007). "Arizona To Host Championship Game". NLL.com.
2. (May 12, 2007). "John Grant Named Championship Game MVP". NLL.com.
3. (February 1, 2007). "NLL & SIRIUS Sign Broadcasting Agreement". NLL.com.
4. (March 7, 2007). "NLL & SIRIUS Announce Lacrosse Talk Show". NLL.com.
5. (April 14, 2007). "Opening Round Playoff Matchups Set". NLL.com.
6. (December 12, 2006). "NLL Announces Rule Changes For 2007". NLL.com.
7. (January 15, 2007). "Weekend Recap: NLL News & Notes". NLL.com.
8. (January 27, 2007). "K-Hawks Outscore Titans in Shootout". NLL.com.
9. (March 26, 2007). "Week 13 Recap: News and Notes". NLL.com.
10. (March 31, 2007). "Rochester handles Wings 12–10". NLL.com.
11. (March 27, 2007). "NLL to play 1,000th game on Saturday". NLL.com.
12. (April 1, 2007). "Mammoth come back to beat Swarm, 11–9". NLL.com.
13. (March 11, 2007). "East Wins All-Star Game 20–16". NLL.com.
14. (May 10, 2007). "John Grant Wins Dodge Nitro MVP Award". NLL.com.
15. (May 8, 2007). "Benesch Named Rookie of the Year". NLL.com.
16. (May 3, 2007). "Ed Comeau Wins Les Bartley Award". NLL.com.
17. (May 4, 2007). "Marty O'Neill Named GM of the Year". NLL.com.
18. (May 7, 2007). "Dave Zygaj Named NLL Executive of the Year". NLL.com.
19. (May 1, 2007). "Cousins named Defensive Player of the Year". NLL.com.
20. (May 1, 2007). "Toll named Transition Player of the Year". NLL.com.
21. (May 2, 2007). "Cosmo Wins Progressive Goalie of the Year". NLL.com.
22. (April 30, 2007). "Kelusky wins Sportsmanship Award". NLL.com.
23. "National Lacrosse League - attendance | Pointstreak Sports Technologies".
24. "National Lacrosse League - attendance | Pointstreak Sports Technologies".