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News Update
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27 December 2002
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2003 schedules analyzed
R.A. Philly
Outsider's Guide Editor in Chief
In considering a team's chances for the upcoming season, we look at the players, the coaching, the team's past successes, and the home crowds. Add the schedule to that list. Bad schedules can derail good teams, just as good schedules can prop up teams who would otherwise fall flat.
The 2003 National Lacrosse League schedule includes many obstacles for the twelve teams to overcome -- games on back-to-back nights, long road stretches, a string of tough games, and ill-timed bye weeks pepper the schedule.
There's an additional wrinkle -- the unbalanced schedule. To have a sixteen-game schedule, each team dropped three home games and three road games from what would have been eleven home-and-home series.
There isn't even rhyme or reason in how games get dropped. Toronto drops three opponents from its schedule completely, leaving eight home-and-home series. Philadelphia, on the other hand, deletes no one but cuts six foes down to a single game.
With all this in mind, the Outsider's Guide has broken down the schedules of each NLL team and examined what awaits each club. Please note that Home/Away below each sixteen-game schedule refers to matchups lost from a potential twenty-two-game season of one home-and-home series versus every other team. (horizontal dashing has been used to connect home and road games for opponents totally absent from a team's schedule)
Albany Attack
Fri 27 Dec TORONTO
Thu 2 Jan at New York
Sat 4 Jan at Buffalo
Sat 11 Jan at Toronto
Fri 17 Jan COLUMBUS
Sat 1 Feb at Rochester
Sun 2 Feb ROCHESTER
Sat 15 Feb BUFFALO
Fri 21 Feb COLORADO
Fri 28 Feb at New Jersey
Fri 7 Mar at Columbus
Sat 15 Mar NEW YORK
Fri 21 Mar at Vancouver
Fri 28 Mar at Colorado
Fri 4 Apr PHILADELPHIA
Sat 12 Apr VANCOUVER
HOME ROAD
CALG -- CALG
OTTA -- OTTA
NEWJ PHIL
Two-game weekends: 2
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What is about the Albany Attack and season openers? For the third time in four years, the NLL opens up with a game involving the Attack, and the second straight time, it's in the Capital Region. This time, the defending Central Division champion starts off by hosting Toronto, who it lost by a goal in last season's title game. With a return trip to Toronto, a weekend home-and-home series with Rochester, and two other division games by the first weekend of February, it won't be an easy start for the Attack. The schedule lightens up for a while after that, though, including one each with traditional punching bags Columbus, New York and New Jersey. If Albany can survive the opening six weeks, it could be in good shape entering a stretch drive comprising of Colorado, Philadelphia, and two with Vancouver. Finishing with the Wings and Ravens at home could prove quite valuable in the race for playoff position.
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Buffalo Bandits
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There are two ways to look at the Buffalo Bandits' schedule -- either it's a recipe for disaster or a cheap route to an easy stretch drive. Either way, the crux of the schedule is the first eight games, in which the Bandits play thrice in eight days and face champion Toronto, runner-up Albany, and up-and-comer Columbus two times each. The second half starts with New York, then a two-week break before ripping into the last major challenge, Rochester and Philadelphia in consecutive weeks. History shows these won't be easy (5-14 alltime against the K'Hawks, 4-7 in the City of Brotherly Love), but they will show new coach Darris Kilgour what his troops are made of heading into the last five games of the season. Of those five games, four opponents combined to go 17-47 last season. The exception? Those pesky Knighthawks, who could end Buffalo's season if the Bandits aren't careful. Buffalo might be wishing it still had a home date with Philadelphia (three-game winning streak at HSBC Arena), but for the first time ever, the Wings won't be coming to town.
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Sat 4 Jan ALBANY
Sat 11 Jan COLUMBUS
Sun 19 Jan at New Jersey
Fri 24 Jan at Toronto
Sat 25 Jan CALGARY
Sat 1 Feb at Columbus
Sat 8 Feb TORONTO
Sat 15 Feb at Albany
Sun 16 Feb NEW YORK
Fri 7 Mar ROCHESTER
Sat 15 Mar at Philadelphia
Fri 21 Mar OTTAWA
Sat 22 Mar at Ottawa
Sat 29 Mar at Rochester
Sat 5 Apr NEW JERSEY
Fri 11 Apr at Calgary
HOME ROAD
COLO -- COLO
VANC -- VANC
PHIL NEWY
Two-game weekends: 3
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Calgary Roughnecks
Sat 28 Dec at Ottawa
Sun 12 Jan NEW JERSEY
Fri 17 Jan TORONTO
Fri 24 Jan at Columbus
Sat 25 Jan at Buffalo
Fri 31 Jan VANCOUVER
Sun 2 Feb at Vancouver
Fri 7 Feb COLUMBUS
Fri 14 Feb at Colorado
Fri 28 Feb at Toronto
Sun 2 Mar NEW YORK
Sat 22 Mar at Philadelphia
Sun 23 Mar at New York
Sun 30 Mar OTTAWA
Sat 5 Apr COLORADO
Fri 11 Apr BUFFALO
HOME ROAD
ALBA -- ALBA
ROCH -- ROCH
PHIL NEWJ
Two-game weekends: 4
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If the Calgary Roughnecks are to improve on their league-worst 4-12 record, they will have to handle a schedule that toughens with time. The only playoff team among the first five opponents is Toronto, with games against Ottawa and New Jersey serving as tuneups for Calgary's first major challenge. The easy opening stretch which comes to a crashing halt at the end of January with a weekend home-and-home against Vancouver, and after hosting Columbus, trips to Colorado and Toronto await Chris Hall's troops. Look out for the East Coast swing in March, with games at Philadelphia and New York inside of 24 hours. It's part of a stretch where the Roughnecks play at home only once in six weeks, and even that is a matter for concern, coming two days after hitting the Air Canada Centre. However, that long road trip comes with a reward -- the last three games are at the Saddledome, against Ottawa, Colorado, and Buffalo.
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Colorado Mammoth
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The first six games look to be vitally important in the Colorado Mammoth's drive to defend its Eastern Division crown. Two of the first three are against Toronto, followed by four intradivisionals, including a home-and-home series with long-time rival Philadelphia. Those games with the Wings could set the tone for the games which follow, two against New York and one with New Jersey. A few weeks down the road, the Mammoth has a pair with Vancouver, a curious home-and-home set for the Mammoth but not for the Ravens, who play twice during Colorado's bye week. The open weekend in the middle of the Vancouver series is Colorado's only in-season bye. Whether that helps or hurts the Mammoth, who probably could use a good rest a few times this season, remains to be seen, but the one it gets comes at a good point, with Rochester, Albany and Toronto waiting down the stretch. Closing with the Rock could be exciting -- these teams traditionally play each other very tight, and Toronto will have two bye weeks to prepare.
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Fri 3 Jan TORONTO
Sat 11 Jan at Ottawa
Sat 18 Jan PHILADELPHIA
Sat 25 Jan at Philadelphia
Fri 31 Jan NEW YORK
Thu 6 Feb at New York
Sat 8 Feb NEW JERSEY
Fri 14 Feb CALGARY
Fri 21 Feb at Albany
Sat 1 Mar VANCOUVER
Sun 16 Mar at Vancouver
Fri 21 Mar ROCHESTER
Sun 23 Mar at New Jersey
Fri 28 Mar ALBANY
Sat 5 Apr at Calgary
Sun 13 Alb at Toronto
HOME ROAD
BUFF -- BUFF
COLU -- COLU
OTTA ROCH
Two-game weekends: 2
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Columbus Landsharks
Fri 27 Dec NEW YORK
Fri 3 Jan OTTAWA
Sat 4 Jan at New Jersey
Sat 11 Jan at Buffalo
Fri 17 Jan at Albany
Fri 24 Jan CALGARY
Sat 1 Feb BUFFALO
Fri 7 Feb at Calgary
Fri 14 Feb NEW JERSEY
Sat 15 Feb at Rochester
Sat 1 Mar at Philadelphia
Fri 7 Mar ALBANY
Sun 16 Mar ROCHESTER
Fri 4 Apr at New York
Sat 5 Apr VANCOUVER
Sat 12 Apr at Ottawa
HOME ROAD
COLO -- COLO
TORO -- TORO
PHIL VANC
Two-game weekends: 3
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The word of the year for the Columbus Landsharks is "soft" -- as in one of the softest schedules known to mankind, especially in the opening two months. Six games are required interdivisional matchups, and they could be brutal. Albany and Rochester finished 1-2 in the regular season, combining for a 27-5 record, while Buffalo is always a tough foe. The other ten games, though, are another story. Columbus opens with New York, Ottawa, and New Jersey (14-34), then plays a pair with Calgary by early February. The price for this cushy first half, of course, is a not-so-cushy second half. The Landsharks play the first eight games in seven weeks, without a bye. The second half, however, includes a bye, a double bye and two two-game weekends. It's also where five games against playoff teams (Rochester twice, Albany, Philadelphia, and Vancouver) lurk. Consider, though, that nowhere on Columbus' schedule is the Toronto Rock, the second season that the two teams haven't met. Then again, you won't find Colorado there, either, a boon to a team that handles the Mammoth well.
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New Jersey Storm
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To start its sophomore season on the right foot, the Storm must convince itself that first impressions aren't everything. New Jersey opens with a wicked challenge at Rochester, but it can't get down if it loses that game -- the next opponent with a winning record last season comes seven games later, when the Storm visits Colorado on a Sunday afternoon. That trip, however, is just two days after a game against Philadelphia; the rough weekend could define New Jersey's season, and ironically, it happens just as team owner Jayson Williams prepares to stand trial for manslaughter (for those who've forgotten, the Storm, rocked by the news of a killing at Williams' estate earlier that week, shocked the league by sweeping Washington (now Colorado) and Philadelphia on consecutive days). Later on, a five-week, three-game stretch keeps the Storm at home the entire month of March, but the price is a busy April, with a league-most three games that month.
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Sat 28 Dec at Rochester
Sat 4 Jan COLUMBUS
Fri 10 Jan NEW YORK
Sun 12 Jan at Calgary
Sun 19 Jan BUFFALO
Sat 1 Feb at Ottawa
Thu 6 Feb PHILADELPHIA
Sat 8 Feb at Colorado
Fri 14 Feb at Columbus
Sat 22 Feb at Philadelphia
Fri 28 Feb ALBANY
Sat 15 Mar OTTAWA
Sun 23 Mar COLORADO
Sat 5 Apr at Buffalo
Sat 12 Apr at New York
Sun 13 Apr VANCOUVER
HOME ROAD
TORO -- TORO
CALG ALBA
ROCH VANC
Two-game weekends: 3
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New York Saints
Fri 27 Dec at Columbus
Thu 2 Jan ALBANY
Sat 4 Jan OTTAWA
Fri 10 Jan at New Jersey
Sat 11 Jan at Philadelphia
Sat 25 Jan ROCHESTER
Fri 31 Jan at Colorado
Thu 6 Feb COLORADO
Sun 16 Feb at Buffalo
Fri 28 Feb at Vancouver
Sun 2 Mar at Calgary
Thu 6 Mar PHILADELPHIA
Sat 15 Mar at Albany
Sun 23 Mar CALGARY
Fri 4 Apr COLUMBUS
Sat 12 Apr NEW JERSEY
HOME ROAD
TORO -- TORO
BUFF ROCH
VANC OTTA
Two-game weekends: 3
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A year ago, we wrote of the New York Saints having a nice, consistent schedule. So much for a repeat. After being bumped out of half their original home dates, the Saints have an ugly schedule, including three Thursday night home games and one weekend where they play twice at home. The revised schedule leaves the Saints with a generally soft opening quarter of the season, although a home game with Albany looms -- as, strangely enough, does a game against Ottawa, which always seems to have New York's number anymore. Starting with a trip to Philadelphia, though, the schedule toughens severely. Stretching into mid-March, the Saints see the Wings and Mammoth twice each, plus the Knighthawks, Bandits, Ravens, and Attack. If New York survives that gauntlet, the final three games are in its favor -- all at home, against Columbus, Calgary, and New Jersey (combined fourteen wins in 2002).
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Ottawa Rebel
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The Ottawa Rebel opens its third season in the Canadian capital with a rebuilt roster, a new coach, and an open invitation to a strong start. The season starts with a visit by Calgary, then follows with a two-game road swing a week later, at Columbus and New York. Ottawa might even post a 3-0 record to start the season, but don't be surprised if it quickly deteriorates, with six of the Rebel's toughest games packed into a seven-game stretch, starting with the home game against Colorado and wrapping up nearly two months later with Vancouver. The rest of the way, the schedule isn't that bad, with a trip to Vancouver the only game against a team with a winning record last season. However, four of the final six games comprise two-game weekends, forcing the Rebel into four matches in a ten-day span.
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Sat 28 Dec CALGARY
Fri 3 Jan at Columbus
Sat 4 Jan at New York
Sat 11 Jan COLORADO
Thu 23 Jan TORONTO
Sat 1 Feb NEW JERSEY
Fri 7 Feb at Toronto
Sat 15 Feb PHILADELPHIA
Fri 28 Feb at Rochester
Sat 8 Mar VANCOUVER
Sat 15 Mar at New Jersey
Fri 21 Mar at Buffalo
Sat 22 Mar BUFFALO
Fri 28 Mar at Vancouver
Sun 30 Mar at Calgary
Sat 12 Apr COLUMBUS
HOME ROAD
ALBA -- ALBA
ROCH COLU
NEWY PHIL
Two-game weekends: 3
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Philadelphia Wings
Fri 3 Jan at Vancouver
Sat 11 Jan NEW YORK
Sat 18 Jan at Colorado
Sat 25 Jan COLORADO
Sat 1 Feb TORONTO
Thu 6 Feb at New Jersey
Sat 8 Feb ROCHESTER
Sat 15 Feb at Ottawa
Sat 22 Feb NEW JERSEY
Sat 1 Mar COLUMBUS
Thu 6 Mar at New York
Sat 15 Mar BUFFALO
Fri 21 Mar at Toronto
Sat 22 Mar CALGARY
Fri 4 Apr at Albany
Sat 12 Apr at Rochester
HOME ROAD
ALBA BUFF
OTTA CALG
VANC COLU
Two-game weekends: 2
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Surprise, surprise -- the Philadelphia Wings open on the road. However, unlike last season, it's a brief trip, not a half-season excursion. That doesn't mitigate the challenge of the first six weeks, though, as Vancouver, Toronto, Rochester, and Colorado could put the rebuilding Wings in an early hole if they're not prepared for battle. In particular, the Mammoth home-and-home could set the tone for the season -- no teams have met as often as these two (thirty-six times) and few series have been more hotly contested in recent years. A stretch of Ottawa, New Jersey, Columbus and New York could help the Wings bounce back into the race; they combined to win only nine games in 2002 against teams other than themselves, but three of those were against a very inconsistent Wings team. Philadelphia benefits from the Whitman's Sampler schedule this season (only the Wings play every other NLL team this season), but a season-ending road trip to Albany and Rochester could be rotten to the (peanut butter) core.
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Rochester Knighthawks
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It's a good thing that the Rochester Knighthawks seem to have put their early-season struggles in the past, or else we might not hear much from them after early February. Even if Rochester dispenses with the Storm without much trouble, home-and-home series with Vancouver and Albany loom large. The latter could be the series of the year, with the Central Division powerhouses meeting twice in 24 hours. Problem is, the Knighthawks can never shake off the upper-echelon teams long enough to feast on weaker teams -- only five games are against teams that finished below .500 last season, and Rochester doesn't get more than one such opponent in a row. Two long-time rivals (Buffalo and Philadelphia) visit Blue Cross Arena to end the season, in what could be some very enthralling lacrosse.
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Sat 28 Dec NEW JERSEY
Sun 12 Jan at Vancouver
Sat 18 Jan VANCOUVER
Sat 25 Jan at New York
Sat 1 Feb ALBANY
Sun 2 Feb at Albany
Sat 8 Feb at Philadelphia
Sat 15 Feb COLUMBUS
Sat 22 Feb at Toronto
Fri 28 Feb OTTAWA
Fri 7 Mar at Buffalo
Fri 14 Mar TORONTO
Sun 16 Mar at Columbus
Fri 21 Mar at Colorado
Sat 29 Mar BUFFALO
Sat 12 Apr PHILADELPHIA
HOME ROAD
CALG -- CALG
COLO NEWJ
NEWY OTTA
Two-game weekends: 2
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Toronto Rock
Fri 27 Dec at Albany
Fri 3 Jan at Colorado
Sat 11 Jan ALBANY
Fri 17 Jan at Calgary
Thu 23 Jan at Ottawa
Fri 24 Jan BUFFALO
Sat 1 Feb at Philadelphia
Fri 7 Feb OTTAWA
Sat 8 Feb at Buffalo
Fri 14 Feb at Vancouver
Sat 22 Feb ROCHESTER
Fri 28 Feb CALGARY
Fri 7 Mar ROCHESTER
Fri 14 Mar at Rochester
Fri 21 Mar PHILADELPHIA
Sun 13 Apr COLORADO
HOME ROAD
NEWJ -- NEWJ
NEWY -- NEWY
COLU -- COLU
Two-game weekends: 2
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If the Toronto Rock hasn't tired of discussing the Albany Attack by now, it will by mid-January. After edging the Attack in last year's title game, the Rock opens the season in Albany and hosts a rematch two weeks later. With a game at Colorado thrown in for good measure, the Rock could get off to a brutal start. Don't sweat it, though, Toronto -- the six games which follow aren't that bad. The stretch features Ottawa twice, Buffalo twice, Calgary, and a trip to Philadelphia. This would be the time for the Rock to distance itself from the rest of the Northern Division, before the likes of Vancouver and Rochester pop up on the schedule. However, there's a positive beneath the challenging second-half schedule -- five of Toronto's last six games are at Air Canada Centre, where the Rock is very difficult to beat. The last game in particular could be interesting -- Toronto has two weeks off (its only bye weeks of the season) before hosting Colorado.
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Vancouver Ravens
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Follow the pretty pattern, lacrosse fans. The Vancouver Ravens open with two games at home and two games on the road, then settle into alternating three-game stretches at GM Place and on the road. That first home stand features visits by Philadelphia and Rochester, both of whom made the playoffs last season. The series with the Knighthawks continues a week later, with a home-and-home against bitter rival Calgary and a visit by defending champion Toronto right after that. Interestingly, there are four bye weeks in the first half of the season, pushing the midway point of Vancouver's sophomore campaign into March. Sure enough, it will be a hectic stretch run for the Ravens, who open the month of March with three road games in eight days before returning home for three contests at The Garage. No team has a busier April, either, and ending the season with East Coast afternoon games on consecutive days could be brutal.
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Fri 3 Jan PHILADELPHIA
Sun 12 Jan ROCHESTER
Sat 18 Jan at Rochester
Fri 31 Jan at Calgary
Sun 2 Feb CALGARY
Fri 14 Feb TORONTO
Fri 28 Feb NEW YORK
Sat 1 Mar at Colorado
Fri 7 Mar at Toronto
Sat 8 Mar at Ottawa
Sun 16 Mar COLORADO
Fri 21 Mar ALBANY
Fri 28 Mar OTTAWA
Sat 5 Apr at Columbus
Sat 12 Apr at Albany
Sun 13 Apr at New Jersey
HOME ROAD
BUFF -- BUFF
COLU NEWY
NEWJ PHIL
Two-game weekends: 4
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