The 2014

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...

season, the 28th in the history of the NLL, began on December 28, 2013 and ended on May 31, 2014, the date of Game 2 and 3 of the championship series. After finishing the regular season atop the East Division, the

Rochester Knighthawks The Rochester Knighthawks (also known as the K-Hawks) are a professional box lacrosse team in the North Division of the National Lacrosse League. They play in Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Knighthawks are ow ...

continued winning in the playoffs and took their third consecutive

Champion's Cup The National Lacrosse League Cup is the trophy awarded each year to the champions of the National Lacrosse League. Prior to 2018, the league awarded the Champions Cup. Winners Most Valuable Players All-time Finals appearances since leagu ...

, the first time a team has won the league title three straight years.

Milestones and events

Pre-season

* March 15, 2013: Midway through the 2013 season, the league announced that the schedule would expand from 16 games to 18 games in 2014. * June 27, 2013: The NLL announced that the

Washington Stealth The Washington Stealth were a member of the National Lacrosse League, the professional box lacrosse league of North America from the 2010 NLL season through the 2013 NLL season. They were based in Everett (part of the Seattle metropolitan area ...

would relocate to Langley, British Columbia for 2014. It was later announced that the team would be known as the

Vancouver Stealth The Vancouver Warriors are a professional box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. The team moved from Everett, Washington, for the 2014 NLL season. History The Warriors are based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and play at Rogers Ar ...

. * August 23, 2013: IL Indoor reported that the

Minnesota Swarm The Minnesota Swarm was a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League who played at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota from 2004 until 2015. The team's previous owners (Minnesota Sports & Entertainment) who also own the NHL's M ...

would be moving back to the Eastern division. The Swarm played in the East from 2005-2008 before moving to the West. * August 23, 2013: IL Indoor also reported that the playoff structure would be changing in 2014. The top three teams, not four, in each division would make the playoffs. Each division winner would receive a bye in the first round while the second- and third-place teams played a one-game division semi-final. The winner would play the division winner in a two-game playoff series. If one team won both games, they would win the series, otherwise the teams would play a 10-minute game to decide the series. If the teams are still tied after 10 minutes, they would play sudden-death overtime. The Championship would be decided by a similar two-game series. * October 22, 2013: The NLL and the PLPA announced that they had agreed on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The new agreement covers the 2014 through 2020 NLL seasons, and includes the previously reported move of the Swarm to the Eastern division as well as the two-game playoff series. Highlights of the CBA include no pay increases for players during the first two years of the agreement, reduction in the size of player rosters and the number of players who dress for games, reduction in the age for free agency from 32 to 30, and the ability for players to reject the "franchise player" designation.

Regular season

* February 22, 2014:

Toronto Rock The Toronto Rock are a professional box lacrosse franchise based in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the North Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team was the first Canadian franchise in the NLL. ...

forward Colin Doyle scored his 499th and 500th goals in Toronto's victory over the

. * March 1, 2014: Just a week after scoring his 500th goal, Colin Doyle recorded his 800th assist and 1300th point in the NLL. * March 4, 2014: After a 4-7 start, the

Colorado Mammoth The Colorado Mammoth are a box lacrosse team playing in the National Lacrosse League. The Mammoth have played at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, since the 2003 season. They are owned by Stan Kroenke, who is also the owner of the Colorado Avalanch ...

fired head coach Bob Hamley and assistant coaches Ed Comeau and Sean Ferris. * March 14, 2014: The

Edmonton Rush The Edmonton Rush were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) that played from 2006 NLL season to 2015. The team announced on July 20, 2015, that they would be relocating to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for the 2016 sea ...

clinched a playoff berth with a 15-7 road win against the

Calgary Roughnecks The Calgary Roughnecks are a professional box lacrosse team based in Calgary, Alberta. They are members of the Western Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and play their home games on WestJet Field at Scotiabank Saddledome. The t ...

which gave them a 10-0 record. It is the third straight playoff appearance for the Rush. * March 16, 2014: The

clinched a playoff berth with an 11-7 road win against the Philadelphia Wings which gave them a 9-3 record. It is the fourth straight playoff appearance for the Knighthawks. * March 21, 2014: The

clinched no worse than home-turf advantage for the division semifinals with a 14-5 win at home over the

Buffalo Bandits The Buffalo Bandits are a professional box lacrosse team in the East Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1992 to 1997, t ...

which gave the Rush an 11-0 record. The home playoff game will be the first in franchise history. * March 30, 2014: The

with a record of 9-4 clinched no worse than home-turf advantage for the division semifinals when the

won 13-10 on the road against the

. It will be the third straight year the NLL Playoffs have come to Rochester. The loss by the Rock also clinched a playoff berth for the

with a record of 8-5, their first playoff appearance since 2012. * April 5, 2014: John Tavares scored his league-record 800th goal in the Bandits' loss to Calgary. The 16-13 road win by the Roughnecks improved their record to 10-5, clinched them a playoff berth and guaranteed them no worse than home-turf advantage in the division semifinals. It is the 12th straight playoff appearance for the Roughnecks and the eighth consecutive year the NLL Playoffs will visit Calgary. * April 5, 2014: The

clinched the West Division regular-season title as well as the league's best overall regular-season record with a 12-11 home victory over the

which gave the Rush a 14-0 record. It is the first regular-season division title for the Rush. * April 11, 2014: The longest season-opening winning streak in NLL history comes to an end, as the

hand the

their first loss of the year, 10-8 at

Pepsi Center Ball Arena (formerly known as Pepsi Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado. It is situated at Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by two nearby exits off Interstate 25. A light r ...

. The Rush began the season with 14 straight wins. * April 12, 2014: The

clinched a playoff berth with a 10-9 win at home against the Philadelphia Wings that improved their record to 7-9. It is the fifth straight playoff appearance for the Rock. * April 12, 2014: The

who had improved their record to 12-4 with a win earlier in the evening clinched the East Division regular-season title when the

lost 10-9 on the road against the

. It is the first time the Knighthawks have finished the regular season atop their division since 2007. * April 19, 2014: The

clinch a playoff berth with an 18-12 road win over the

which improved their record to 7-10. In the game, John Grant, Jr. became the third player in league history to reach the 600 career goal plateau. It is the fourth straight playoff appearance for the Mammoth. * April 26, 2014: The

clinched home-turf for the East Division Semifinal with an 8-6 road win against the

that evened their record at 9-9. It is the fifth straight year the NLL Playoffs have come to Toronto.

Playoffs

* May 3, 2014: The division semifinal playoff games were played with the

defeating the

on the road and the

winning in overtime at home against the

. The win for the Bandits snapped their season-ending 8-game losing streak. * May 10, 2014: The first multiple-game playoff series since the 1998 NLL Championship Series began as the

visited the

in Game 1 of the East Finals, and the

visited the

in Game 1 of the West Finals. * May 16, 2014: In the first NLL division finals series to conclude under the newly adopted format, the

won Game 2 at home to force the 10-minute Game 3 which started at 9:20 pm PDT. The

scored 2 goals in the first three minutes of Game 3 and held on for a 2-1 win in the NLL's first mini-game. The first goal ever scored in a mini-game came from Shawn Evans. * May 17, 2014: Just as Edmonton did the previous day, the

also won Game 2 at home to force the 10-minute Game 3 which started at 9:45 pm EDT. The Knighthawks and

exchanged goals in regulation time of Game 3. It took 2:08 for

Cory Vitarelli Cory Vitarelli (born June 30, 1985 in Peterborough, Ontario) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player who plays for the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League and the Peterborough Lakers of Major Series Lacrosse. Vitarelli scored t ...

to score the first series-winning, deciding mini-game overtime goal under the new playoff format for Rochester. * May 24, 2014: The

Finals got underway with the

winning Game 1 at home against the

in front of 16,541 fans.

Dane Dobbie Dane Dobbie (born December 1, 1986 in Elora, Ontario) is a professional lacrosse player for the San Diego Seals in the National Lacrosse League. Dobbie comes from a lacrosse family. His grandfather, Bob Dobbie, is a member of Canadian Lacros ...

was the game's first star leading the Roughnecks offensively with three goals and an assist on 10 shots. He also collected two loose balls. Roughnecks' goaltender

Mike Poulin Mike Poulin (born December 17, 1985 in Kitchener, Ontario) is a professional lacrosse goaltender wearing #30 for the Georgia Swarm in the National Lacrosse League. He formerly played for thCalgary Roughnecks the Toronto Rock and the Boston Bla ...

had 36 saves and collected a loose ball to record the win.

Craig Point Craig Point (born January 19, 1986), is an Iroquois lacrosse player who currently plays for the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League and the Six Nations Chiefs of Major Series Lacrosse. He was born in Ohsweken, Ontario, and comes ...

had two goals on nine shots to take third star honors for the Knighthawks. The Roughnecks jumped out in front 1-0 less than three minutes into the game and 2-0 less than 10 minutes in. The Knighthawks got within a goal twice at 4-3 in the second quarter and 7-6 late in the third quarter. But the Roughnecks scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter to ice the game. * May 31, 2014: In Game 2 of the

Finals, the

broke open a tight game by scoring the first four goals of the fourth quarter in less than six minutes to extend their lead to five goals over the

. The Knighthawks ended with a 6-1 advantage in the fourth quarter leading them to a 16-10 victory in front of 9,188 home fans.

Dan Dawson Dan Dawson (born December 11, 1981) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player for the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League, Brampton Excelsiors (MSL) of Major Series Lacrosse, and is currently a free agent in Major League Lacrosse. Daws ...

led the way for the Knighthawks with three goals and four assists on nine shots and was named the game's first star.

Cody Jamieson Cody Jamieson (born July 17, 1987) is a Mohawk lacrosse player from the Turtle Clan at Grand River. He plays for the Halifax Thunderbirds of the National Lacrosse League, the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse, and the Six Nations Chiefs in ...

chipped in with three goals and three assists on eight shots while retrieving four loose balls. Stephen Keogh had three goals and an assist on nine shots with six loose balls. Paul Dawson and

Dylan Evans Dylan Evans (born August 18, 1966) is a British former academic and author who has written books on emotion and the placebo effect as well as the theories of Jacques Lacan. Life and career Early life and education Evans was born in Bristol on ...

each scooped up seven loose balls. Evans also won 15 of 28 (54%) faceoffs. Knighthawks netminder

Matt Vinc Matt Vinc (born June 9, 1982 in St. Catharines, Ontario) is a Canadian professional lacrosse goaltender who plays for the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League and for the Peterborough Lakers of the Major Series Lacrosse. He was a me ...

had 38 saves to record the win. In the ensuing Game 3, the Roughnecks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first five minutes on goals by Shawn Evans and

Curtis Dickson Curtis Dickson (born July 18, 1988) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player who currently plays for the San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League. Prior to signing with the Seals in August 2022, he played 11 seasons with the Calgary Rough ...

. However, less than four minutes later, the Knighthawks tied the game on goals by

and

Joe Walters Joe Walters (born November 30, 1984) is an American former professional lacrosse player. Walters is part of the 2022 class of the Rochester Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Early life Walters, the youngest of four children was born to Joe and Be Walter ...

. Just 24 seconds after the Knighthawks tied the game, they took the lead on another goal by Point with 59 seconds to play. Dylan Evans collected three loose balls and won five of six (83%) faceoffs in the mini-game. Vinc had seven saves to record the win. Point took first-star honors for the mini-game. With the victory, the Knighthawks became the first team in NLL history to win three consecutive league championships. Dawson, who missed Game 1 with a chest injury he suffered in the East Finals, was named Champion's Cup Finals Most Valuable Player.

Final standings

Playoffs

* = overtime

Division Finals and Champion's Cup Final individual game results

East Division Finals

Saturday May 10 - Game 1 at

First Niagara Center KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

: Buffalo Bandits 12, Rochester Knighthawks 8
Saturday May 17 - Game 2 at

Blue Cross Arena Blue Cross Arena, also known as the War Memorial, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Rochester, New York. For hockey and lacrosse, its seating capacity is 10,662. The arena opened on October 18, 1955, as the Rochester Community War Memor ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

: Rochester Knighthawks 13, Buffalo Bandits 8
Saturday May 17 - Game 3 at Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York: Rochester Knighthawks 2, Buffalo Bandits 1, overtime
Rochester wins series, 2-1.

West Division Finals

Saturday May 10 - Game 1 at

Scotiabank Saddledome Scotiabank Saddledome is a multi-use indoor arena in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located in Stampede Park in the southeast end of downtown Calgary, the Saddledome was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral as the home of the Calgary Flames ...

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

: Calgary Roughnecks 12, Edmonton Rush 11, overtime
Friday May 16 - Game 2 at

Rexall Place Northlands Coliseum is a now-unused indoor arena located in Edmonton, Alberta, situated on the north side of Northlands (organization), Northlands. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hock ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Alberta: Edmonton Rush 15, Calgary Roughnecks 13
Friday May 16 - Game 3 at Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta: Calgary Roughnecks 2, Edmonton Rush 1
Calgary wins series, 2-1.

Champion's Cup

Saturday May 24 - Game 1 at Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta: Calgary Roughnecks 10, Rochester Knighthawks 7
Saturday May 31 - Game 2 at Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York: Rochester Knighthawks 16, Calgary Roughnecks 10
Saturday May 31 - Game 3 at Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York: Rochester Knighthawks 3, Calgary Roughnecks 2
Rochester wins series, 2-1.

Regular-season results table

Awards

Annual awards

For the first time, the winners of the NLL's annual awards were not announced during the playoffs. Instead, three finalists for each award were announced during the two weeks following the final Championship game. The winners were announced at the first-ever NLL Season Awards Ceremony on September 21, 2014.

All-Rookie team

* Robert Church, Edmonton * Tyler Digby, Vancouver * Karsen Leung, Calgary * Logan Schuss, Minnesota * Garrett Thul, Philadelphia * Dillon Ward, Colorado

All-Pro teams

First team

* Cody Jamieson, Rochester * Shawn Evans, Calgary * Garrett Billings, Toronto * Jordan MacIntosh, Minnesota * Kyle Rubisch, Edmonton * Matt Vinc, Rochester

Second team

* Dane Dobbie, Calgary * Adam Jones, Colorado * Curtis Dickson, Calgary * Brodie Merrill, Philadelphia * Chris Corbeil, Edmonton * Aaron Bold, Edmonton

Monthly awards

Awards are 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.

Stadiums and locations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2014 Nll Season 14

Milestones and events

Pre-season

Regular season

Playoffs

Final standings

Playoffs

Division Finals and Champion's Cup Final individual game results

East Division Finals

West Division Finals

Champion's Cup

Regular-season results table

Awards

Annual awards

All-Rookie team

All-Pro teams

First team

Second team

Monthly awards

Statistics leaders

Stadiums and locations

See also

References