Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Fastest/Slowest First Goal in Bandits' Game (2005 to 2023)

It took more than seven minutes for someone to score in Game One of the NLL Finals of 2016 between the Bandits and Rush. I received a tweet from a fan wondering if that was some sort of record.

And so, as a public service, I'm looking. It turns out the first goal in the first game of the final came later than any goal in more than two years, so our loyal reader was on to something. That number has been surpassed several times over the years.

Let's take a look at all recent Bandit games since 2005, including playoffs, starting with the fastest opening goal:

Time - Scorer - Team - Date
0:05 - G. Snider - Philadelphia - 1/26/08
0:07 - M. Hominuck - Buffalo - 1/26/13
0:09 - J. Walters - Rochester - 3/14/09
0:10 - D. Westervelt - Philadelphia - 1/3/09
0:11 - J. Thorimbert - Buffalo - 5/21/16*
0:13 - A. Malcom - Buffalo - 4/19/16
0:13 - M. Steenhuis - Buffalo - 3/21/09
0:13 - A. Iannucci - Philadelphia - 3/1/08
0:13 - T. Hoffarth - Vancouver - 1/21/17
0:13 - J. Byrne - Buffalo - 2/9/18

And now the slowest opening goal:

Time - Scorer - Team - Date
18:21 - J. Resetarits - Buffalo - 3/23/14
12:14 - M. Steenhuis - Buffalo - 3/13/10
11:45 - R. Staats - Halifax - 3/10/23
11:26 - J. Crosbie - Buffalo - 4/9/06*
10:51 - J. Walters - Rochester - 2/8/14
 9:52 - J. Tavares - Buffalo - 4/16/05
 9:44 - T. Kelusky - Calgary - 4/9/05
 9:26 - J. Crosbie - Buffalo - 3/4/05
 9:17 - R. O'Connor - Albany - 5/7/22*
 8:35 - R. Duch - Calgary - 5/18/19*

 * - Playoff game

Let's take this a step further. What's the longest gap between goals by a team at any point in a Bandits game in this era? It will take a little while to go back through the years, so be patient. But here are the numbers, first for the Bandits' waits from the 2007 season to the 2022-23 season:

Time - Scorer - Opponent - Date
38:39 - Steenhuis - Rochester - 2/8/14
34:13 - (None) - Orlando - 4/18/10
29:07 - Gilray - Toronto - 2/9/20
25:37 - Cloutier - Halifax - 12/28/19
25:21 - Byrne - San Diego - 3/25/23
25:16 - Small - Philadelphia - 2/15/20
24:46 - Vyse - Philadelphia - 1/26/08
24:40 - (None) - Rochester - 1/9/10
23:59 - Dostie - New York - 5/9/09*
22:17 - Benesch - Toronto - 1/10/14

And here's the list for the wait by a Bandits' opponent:

Time - Scorer - Team - Date
34:28 - McLellan - New York - 3/17/07
33:27 - Craig - Toronto - 4/30/22
30:03 - (None) - Minnesota - 4/22/07*
28:53 - Kew - Albany - 2/18/22
28:34 - Wasson-McQuigge - Chicago - 28:34
28:17 - Bining - Boston - 4/24/10
27:35 - Prossner - Portland - 12/30/06
27:27 - Wilson - Minnesota - 1/30/10
26:22 - Small - Toronto - 12/17/22
24:43 - Wailes - Philadelphia - 2/17/07

* - Playoff game

Updated through May 28, 2023

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Sunday, May 8, 2016

NLL Attendance Average and Leaders

Let's see how the National Lacrosse League is doing in terms of attendance over the years, at least as far back as the website goes. 

The league bounced back a bit in 2022-23. It's still the second-lowest number in recent league history, but it did jump more than 800 per game. Panther City, Albany, and New York all averaged fewer than 5,000 per game. Remember that the number is tickets distributed, not actual attendance. Panther City (2,812) and Albany (3,610) had to be particularly disappointing, and it's easy to wonder what might happen there. 

The total attendance for the league was over one million for the first time since 2008, and the third time in history. That's one way of putting it, although having 15 teams in the league had something to do with it. 

Year - Average
2022-23 - 7,699
2021-22 - 6,865
2019-20 - 8,035
2018-19 - 9,596
2017-18 - 9,411
2017 - 9,454
2016 - 9,152
2015 - 8,970
2014 - 9,430
2013 - 9,437
2012 - 9,469
2011 - 9,322
2010 - 9,559
2009 - 10,018
2008 - 10,475
2007 - 10,293
2006 - 10,703
2005 - 10,236
2004 - 10,008

And what was the league leader's number? Buffalo is still on top, with a big yearly increase to boot:  

Year - Team - Average
2022-23 - Buffalo - 14,731
2021-22 - Buffalo - 9,921
2018-19 - Saskatchewan - 13,459
2017-18 - Saskatchewan - 14,639
2017 - Buffalo- 15,148
2016 - Buffalo - 15,833
2015 - Colorado - 14,787
2014 - Colorado - 15,706
2013 - Buffalo - 15,620
2012 - Buffalo - 15,918
2011 - Buffalo - 17,095
2010 - Buffalo - 16,604
2009 - Buffalo - 17,946
2008 - Colorado - 17,464
2007 - Colorado - 16,794
2006 - Colorado - 16,543
2005 - Toronto - 17,123

Updated on May 2, 2023

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Bandits' Margin of Result by Year

I received a note on X.com from a fan who said all of the close games in 2023-24 were killing him.  I went to work. And he's on to somet...