The National Lacrosse League regular season is in the books and it's time for the 2016 NLL Playoffs as the league continues its 30th anniversary year with six teams left in the quest for the Champion's Cup.
The Buffalo Bandits clinched the league's top seed and first in the East while the defending champion Saskatchewan Rush took the West as both teams earned first-round byes and await their next opponent. In the single-elimination Division Semifinal games next weekend, the New England Black Wolves will host the Georgia Swarm in the East with the Calgary Roughnecks visiting the Colorado Mammoth out West for winner-take-all matchups.
East Division Semifinal
(#3) Georgia Swarm (8-10) at (#2) New England Black Wolves (10-8)
Friday, May 6 – 7 p.m. ET
Mohegan Sun Arena
TICKETS
Watch live: NLLTV.com
East Division Finals
Game 1
(#1) Buffalo Bandits (13-5) at TBD
Weekend of May 13-15
Location TBD
Game 2
TBD at (#1) Buffalo Bandits (13-5)
Saturday, May 21 – 7:30 p.m. ET
First Niagara Center
TICKETS
West Division Semifinal
(#3) Calgary Roughnecks (7-10) at (#2) Colorado Mammoth (12-6)
Saturday, May 7 – 9 p.m. ET
Pepsi Center
TICKETS
Watch live on ESPN app & Altitude2 (U.S.): es.pn/1Tt2hfP
Watch live on TSN GO (Canada): tsn.ca/lacrosse/video
West Division Finals
Game 1
(#1) Saskatchewan Rush (13-5) at TBD
Weekend of May 13-15
Location TBD
Game 2
TBD at (#1) Saskatchewan Rush (13-5)
Saturday, May 21 – 9:30 p.m. ET
SaskTel Centre
TICKETS
Champion's Cup Finals
Game 1: Weekend of May 27-29
Game 2: Weekend of June 3-5
Game 3: Weekend of June 10-12 (if necessary)
The top seed from each division plays the winner of the Division Semifinal game between the second and third seeds, with the lower-seeded team hosting the first game and the higher seed hosting the second game of the series. As adopted for the past two years, a 10-minute tiebreaker game will be played immediately following Game 2 of the Division Finals should the series be tied, 1-1.
For the second-straight year, the Champion’s Cup Finals expand to a full best-of-three series with the higher-seeded team hosting Game 1 and Game 3 (if necessary).
Meanwhile, the Rochester Knighthawks, Toronto Rock and Vancouver Stealth look to bounce back next season after being eliminated from playoff contention.
Final Overall Standings
1) Buffalo 13-5
2) Saskatchewan 13-5
3) Colorado 12-6
4) New England 10-8
5) Calgary 8-10
6) Georgia 8-10
7) Rochester 7-11
8) Toronto 5-13
9) Vancouver 5-13
