1997 Major Indoor Lacrosse League season

The 1997 season is the 11th season of the league and, is the last as the MILL, began on January 4, 1997, and concluded with the championship game on April 12. The league was renamed to the National Lacrosse League after this season.

1997 MILL season
League	Major Indoor Lacrosse League
Sport	Indoor lacrosse
Duration	January 4, 1997 - April 12, 1997
Number of games	10
Number of teams	6
TV partner(s)	ESPN and ESPN2
Regular season
League champions	Philadelphia Wings
Runners-up	New York Saints
Season MVP	Gary Gait (Baltimore Thunder)
Top scorer	Gary Gait (Baltimore Thunder)
Champion's Cup
Champions	Rochester Knighthawks
Runners-up	Buffalo Bandits
Finals MVP	Steve Dietrich (Rochester)
MILL/NLL seasons
← 1996 season 1998 season →

Team movement

The Charlotte Cobras, who debuted in the 1996 Major Indoor Lacrosse League season, folded after only a single winless season.

Regular season

Reference: ^[1]

P	Team	GP	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	GF	GA	Diff	GF/GP	GA/GP
1	Philadelphia Wings – xyz	10	7	3	.700	0.0	3–2	4–1	137	115	+22	13.70	11.50
2	New York Saints – x	10	6	4	.600	1.0	4–1	2–3	134	127	+7	13.40	12.70
3	Buffalo Bandits – x	10	6	4	.600	1.0	3–2	3–2	158	153	+5	15.80	15.30
4	Rochester Knighthawks – x	10	5	5	.500	2.0	2–3	3–2	156	135	+21	15.60	13.50
5	Boston Blazers	10	4	6	.400	3.0	3–2	1–4	120	135	−15	12.00	13.50
6	Baltimore Thunder	10	2	8	.200	5.0	1–4	1–4	125	165	−40	12.50	16.50

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

All Star Game

No All-Star Game was played in 1997.

Playoffs

	Semifinals					Championship
	2	New York	10
	3	Buffalo	19
						4	Rochester	15
						3	Buffalo	12
	4	Rochester	15
	1	Philadelphia	13

Awards

Award	Winner	Team
MVP Award	Gary Gait	Philadelphia
Rookie of the Year Award	Jeff Wilfong	Boston
Championship Game MVP	Steve Dietrich	Rochester

Weekly awards

Each week, a player is awarded "Player of the Week" honours.

Week	Player of the Week
1	Paul Gait
2	Roy Colsey
3	Sal LoCascio
4	Paul Gait
5	Paul Gait
6	John Tavares
7	Derek Collins
8	Thomas Carmean
9	Matt Panetta
10	Tom Marechek
11	Ted Dowling
12	Dallas Eliuk

Monthly awards

An award is also given out monthly for the best overall player.

Month	Player of the Month
Jan	Paul Gait
Feb	Derek Collins
Mar	Tom Marechek

All-Pro Teams

First Team:

• Gary Gait, Philadelphia
• Paul Gait, Rochester
• Tom Marechek, Philadelphia
• Mark Millon, New York
• John Tavares, Buffalo
• Dallas Eliuk, Philadelphia (goalie)

Second Team:

• Thomas Carmean, Boston
• Duane Jacobs, Rochester
• Darris Kilgour, Buffalo
• Jeff Klodzen, Baltimore
• Bob Martino, Baltimore
• Sal LoCascio, New York (goalie)

Statistics leaders

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

Stat	Player	Team	Number
Goals	Gary Gait	Philadelphia	40
Assists	Gary Gait	Philadelphia	32
Points	Gary Gait	Philadelphia	72
Penalty Minutes	Tom Phair	Buffalo	58
Shots on Goal	Paul Gait	Rochester	131
Loose Balls	John Tavares	Buffalo	104

Attendance

Regular Season

Home Team	Home Games	Average Attendance	Total Attendance^[2]
Buffalo Bandits	5	17,533	87,665
Philadelphia Wings	5	13,875	69,336
New York Saints	5	7,268	36,338
Rochester Knighthawks	5	6,570	32,852
Boston Blazers	5	6,149	30,743
Baltimore Thunder	5	5,018	25,091
League	30	9,401	282,025

Playoffs

Home Team	Home Games	Average Attendance	Total Attendance^[2]
Buffalo Bandits	2	15,085	30,170
Philadelphia Wings	1	9,372	9,372
League	3	13,181	39,542

See also

• 1997 in sports

References

1. "National Lacrosse League - 1997 Regular Season - Standings". NLL.com. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
2. "1997 Season". nllstats.com. Retrieved 16 June 2023.