Arena Lacrosse League
 | |
| Sport | box lacrosse |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| No. of teams | 11 |
| Most recent champion(s) | East:Whitby Steelhawks West: Black Fish (2024) |
| Most titles | Whitby Steelhawks (2) |
| Official website | ArenaLacrosseLeague.ca |
The Arena Lacrosse League (ALL) is a men's box lacrosse minor league based in Canada. The league consists of teams in Ontario and British Columbia. Teams play a 14-game regular season schedule before league playoffs conclude with the ALL Cup.
History
[edit]Founded by Paul St. John in the summer of 2016, the ALL began with six teams for their first season in the winter of 2017. Oshawa Outlaws, Paris RiverWolves, Peterborough Timbermen, Six Nations Snipers, St. Catharines Shockwave and Toronto Monarchs were the original six of the ALL.[1][2][3]
Oshawa Outlaws defeated the Toronto Monarchs 11–10 in the first league championship game played on April 9, 2017, at Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa.[4] The Outlaws were the regular season winner with a 10–4 record.[5]
Season two included expansion with the Whitby Steelhawks.[6] Toronto Monarchs finished with a league-best 11–3 regular season, but were eliminated in the semifinals by Whitby who would go on to capture the ALL Cup by defeating Paris RiverWolves 12–10 on April 8, 2018, at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre.
In November 2018 the ALL partnered with the National Lacrosse League.[7][8] It will serve as a development league for the NLL.
The 2020 ALL season was stopped two weeks prior to the completion of the regular season due to Covid-19 virus. The Whitby Steelhawks were leading at the time of the stoppage and crowned 2020 regular season champions. The 2021 ALL season was wiped out completely by the virus.
Expansion in the west happened prior to the 2022 season when a four-team division was announced.[9] All games to be played at the Langley Events Centre. The four team division was officially named the "ALL West".
Prior to the 2022 ALL season the St. Catharines Shockwave officially changed their name to the Ohsweken Bears and continued to play their home game at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. With the addition to the ALL West, the Ontario seven team division was officially named "ALL East".
The Brampton Express joined the ALL East as an expansion team in 2023, expanding the ALL East Division to eight teams. The Express will play their home game at Brampton Memorial Arena in Brampton, Ontario.
Women
[edit]ALL added a women's division in 2018 with three teams (RiverWolves, Shockwave and Snipers) competing in the first season. All games are contested at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.
A fourth team (Steelhawks) was added for the 2019 season.
Teams
[edit]| ALL East | Arena | First season |
|---|---|---|
| Brampton Express | Brampton Memorial Arena | 2023 |
| Ohsweken Bears (formally St. Catharines Shockwave) | Iroquois Lacrosse Arena | 2022 (Shockwave -2017) |
| Oshawa Outlaws | Children's Arena | 2017 |
| Paris RiverWolves | Iroquois Lacrosse Arena | 2017 |
| Peterborough Timbermen | Millbrook Arena | 2017 |
| Six Nations Snipers | Iroquois Lacrosse Arena | 2017 |
| Toronto Monarchs | Toronto Rock Athletic Centre | 2017 |
| Whitby Steelhawks | Children's Arena | 2018 |
| ALL West | Arena | First season |
| Blackfish Lacrosse Club | Langley Events Centre | 2022 |
| Grizzlies Lacrosse Club | Langley Events Centre | 2022 |
| Sea Spray Lacrosse Club | Langley Events Centre | 2022 |
| Shooting Eagles Lacrosse Club | Langley Events Centre | 2022 |
ALL Cup
[edit]| Season | Winner (Men) | Runner-up (Men) | Result | Winner (Women) | Runner-up (Women) | Result | Winner (Junior) | Runner-up (Junior) | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Oshawa Outlaws | Toronto Monarchs | 11–10 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ||
| 2018 | Whitby Steelhawks | Paris RIverWolves | 12–10 | Lady Snipers | Lady Shockwave | --- | --- | --- | |||
| 2019 | St. Catharines Shockwave | Paris RIverWolves | 8–6 | Lady RiverWolves | Lady Shockwave | 8–5 | --- | --- | --- | ||
| 2020 | none (season suspended due to COVID-19 | ||||||||||
| 2021 | none (season suspended due to COVID-19 | ||||||||||
| 2022 | West: Sea Spray Lacrosse Club
East: Six Nations Snipers |
Grizzlies Lacrosse Club
Whitby Steelhawks |
2–1 (best-of 3)
16–11 |
Lady Snipers | Lady Steelhawks | 5–2 | Junior Snipers | Junior Monarchs | 6–4 | ||
| 2023 | West: Shooting Eagles Lacrosse Club
East: Toronto Monarchs |
Sea Spray Lacrosse Club
Brampton Express |
2–1 (best-of 3)
10–8 |
||||||||
| 2024 | West: Black Fish Lacrosse Club
East: Whitby Steelhawks |
Shooting Eagles Lacrosse Club
Oshawa Outlaws |
2–0 (best-of 3)
14–12 |
||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ "New Arena Lacrosse League coming to Oshawa in January 2017". DurhamRegion.com. October 24, 2016.
- ^ "Peterborough Timbermen fill out roster in inaugural ALL draft". Peterborough Examiner. November 27, 2016.
- ^ "New Arena Lacrosse League teams getting ready for inaugural season". Two Row Times. December 14, 2016.
- ^ "Oshawa Outlaws take first Arena Lacrosse League championship in thrilling fashion". DurhamRegion.com. April 11, 2017.
- ^ "Oshawa Outlaws finish on top of Arena Lacrosse League in first season". DurhamRegion.com. April 3, 2017.
- ^ "Steelhawks pick 12 in ALL expansion draft". ArenaLacrosseLeague.ca. October 26, 2017.
- ^ "NLL partners with the Arena Lacrosse League". NLL.com. November 29, 2018.
- ^ "Arena Lacrosse League reaches deal to work with National Lacrosse League". Peterborough Examiner. November 29, 2018.
- ^ "Arena Lacrosse League coming to Langley Events Centre". Fraser Valley News. September 10, 2021.