There is a lot of emphasis placed on “firsts”. At the beginning of every season, every team talks about who scored that team’s first goal of the season, and there are frequently online predictions on who will score a team’s first goal in an upcoming game. That’s frequently something you see on betting sites too. And I talked last week about how great it is to see a player’s first NLL goal. But nobody ever talks about “lasts”.

Let’s take a look at some of the last games and goals for NLL teams that are no longer around, and last goals for players that have retired. When possible, I’ll add in links to the game page on nllstats.com 

Teams

Philadelphia Wings (1.0): Their last game was April 26, 2014, a 13-12 loss to the Mammoth. The last Philly goal was by Pat Saunders from Kevin Crowley to tie the game at 12:06 of the fourth. Jamie Shewchuk scored 52 seconds later to seal it for Colorado.

New England Black Wolves: Just as the pandemic hit, the Black Wolves played their last game on March 7, 2020. Since the Black Wolves were part of the same franchise as the original Wings, it’s ironic that their last game was a 9-7 win against the expansion Philadelphia Wings. Their last goal was scored by Callum Crawford at 8:54 of the fourth, from Nick Chaykowsky and Mack Mitchell.

Rochester Knighthawks (1.0): In another ironic twist, the old Knighthawks played their last game on April 27, 2019 against, the New England Black Wolves, who would themselves play their final game less than a year later. The Knighthawks were down by seven twice in the third quarter, but made a game of it in the fourth. Unfortunately, the last goal for the team was by Austin Shanks at 11:02 of the fourth to get the Knighthawks within two and they ended up losing 14-12.

Minnesota Swarm: The Swarm’s last game was a 13-12 OT win against Rochester on May 2, 2015. Noted goal-scorer Jason Noble scored the first of his five career goals, in overtime, to win it for the Swarm.

Jason Noble

Edmonton Rush: A lot of people remember the Rush’s final game: June 5, 2015, an 11-10 win against the Rock in game 2 of the Championship final. Their last goal was the Championship game-winner from Marty Dinsdale at 13:58 of the fourth, from Ben McIntosh and Mark Matthews.

Albany Attack: The Attack’s last game was April 12, 2003, a 12-8 win against the Vancouver Ravens before moving to San Jose to become the…

San Jose Stealth: Their final game was also memorable: May 9, 2009, a 17-5 loss to the Roughnecks in the Western Final. Yes, that game. Calgary scored 15 straight goals (including the game-winning goal by goalie Matt King in the first quarter) to start the game before Rhys Duch opened the Stealth scoring 24 seconds into the fourth quarter. The last Stealth goal was by Eric Martin at 14:29 of the fourth, from Mike Grimes and Matt Roik. The team then moved north to become the…

Washington Stealth: Another team whose final game was in the Championships. On May 11, 2013, the Stealth lost 11-10 to the Knighthawks in the second of Rochester’s three straight titles. Washington’s last goal was an unassisted goal from Tyler Garrison at 3:19 of the fourth before they became the…

Vancouver Stealth: The final game for any team named Stealth was April 28, 2018, an 11-10 loss to the Georgia Swarm. The last goal was by Corey Small at 4:13 of the fourth, from Tony Malcom and Rhys Duch. They haven’t moved since (well, they changed arenas) but rebranded as the Vancouver Warriors for the 2019 season.

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Players

Here are the final goals for each of the top 10 scorers who have retired and a few others who are NLL head coaches.

John Tavares: May 2, 2015 in a 20-10 Bandits defeat of the Black Wolves. It was his fourth of the game, at 3:16 of the 4th, from Alexander-Kedoh Hill and Chad Culp.

Dan Dawson: May 5, 2023, Eastern quarter-final, a Rock 15-11 win against the Thunderbirds. 1:44 of the second from Zach Manns and Billy Hostrawser.

John Grant Jr.: January 7, 2017 for the Mammoth in a loss to the Vancouver Stealth. 7:21 of the first quarter, from Callum Crawford and Zack Greer.

Colin Doyle: March 13, 2016 as the Rock beat the Vancouver Stealth 9-6. 2:12 of the third, from Rob Hellyer and Jesse Gamble.

Shawn Evans: April 29, 2023 (the day after his 37th birthday), in a 16-8 Warriors loss to the Riptide. 2:40 of the second from Adam Charalambides.

Josh Sanderson: April 16, 2016, a Rock 14-8 loss to the Bandits. 1:51 of the second from Rob Hellyer.

Gary Gait: January 8, 2011, as Rochester beat Minnesota 11-10. 2:30 of the third from Shawn Williams and Joe Walters.

Shawn Williams: May 3, 2014, in the Eastern Semi-Final as the Bandits beat the Rock 15-13. 10:51 of the first, unassisted. Incidentally, this was the first playoff game of Dhane Smith’s career.

Rhys Duch: April 22, 2023 as the Rush beat the Mammoth 12-11. 4:34 of the second from Mark Matthews and Ryan Keenan.

Mark Steenhuis: March 23, 2018, the Bandits beat the Black Wolves 20-7. 6:25 of the second from Ryan Wagner and Vaughn Harris.

Paul Gait: April 22, 2005 in the Quarter finals, the Mammoth lost to the Sting 16-13. Paul scored at 8:49 of the second from his brother Gary. He’s not in the top ten and he’s not an NLL coach but if you have Gary there, ya gotta have Paul.

Tracey Kelusky: April 19, 2014, as the Philly Wings beat the Vancouver Stealth 15-11. 1:59 of the first from Ryan Ward.

Tracey Kelusky

Mike Accursi: March 1, 2014 in an 11-9 Rochester win over the Mammoth. Accursi scored the game winner at 4:26 of the fourth, from Dan Dawson and Brad Self.

Dan Ladouceur: Laddy’s last goal came in the 2003 season, before detailed stats were available, so I don’t know what game it happened in. He played at least 76 more games (five full seasons and part of a sixth) in the NLL after scoring that goal, which was the 6th of his career.

Mike Hasen: March 25, 2006 as his Knighthawks lost 18-13 to the Bandits. 2:22 of the second from Carter Livingstone and Steve Toll.

Glenn Clark: March 25, 2006 as a member of the Philadelphia Wings in a 13-12 loss to the Arizona Sting. 1:47 of the third from Brad Self. The exact same day as Mike Hasen scored his last goal.

Patrick Merrill: May 25, 2015 in the mini-game to finish off the Eastern Final, which the Rock won 8-2. Merrill scored a penalty shot goal (unassisted, of course) at 9:05 of the mini-game.

Paul Day: Day scored three goals with the Bandits in 1992, his only NLL season. Again, pre-2005 so I have no game stats.

Jimmy Quinlan: January 25, 2013 as his Rush lost 12-10 to the Washington Stealth. 9:58 of the first from Mark Matthews and Jarrett Davis.

Pat Coyle: January 12, 2008 as a member of the Mammoth, in a 14-11 win over the Edmonton Rush. 12:24 of the fourth quarter from Gee Nash.

Curt Malawsky: May 3, 2009 in the Western Semi-Final as his Roughnecks beat the Mammoth 15-8. 14:26 of the first from Kaleb Toth and Dane Dobbie.