| 1997 MILL season | |
| League: | Major Indoor Lacrosse League |
| Sport: | Indoor lacrosse |
| No Of Teams: | 6 |
| No Of Games: | 10 |
| Duration: | January 4, 1997 - April 12, 1997 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Mvp: | Gary Gait (Baltimore Thunder) |
| Mvp Link: | National Lacrosse League MVP Award |
| Top Scorer: | Gary Gait (Baltimore Thunder) |
| Top Scorer Link: | 1997 MILL season |
| League Champs: | Philadelphia Wings |
| Second Place: | New York Saints |
| Finals: | Champion's Cup |
| Finals Link: | Champion's Cup |
| Finals Champ: | Rochester Knighthawks |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Buffalo Bandits |
| Finals Mvp: | Steve Dietrich (Rochester) |
| Finals Mvp Link: | Champion's Cup#Most Valuable Players |
| Seasonslistnames: | MILL/NLL |
| Prevseason Link: | 1996 Major Indoor Lacrosse League season |
| Prevseason Year: | 1996 season |
| Nextseason Link: | 1998 NLL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 1998 season |
| Tv: | ESPN and ESPN2 |
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.
The Charlotte Cobras, who debuted in the 1996 Major Indoor Lacrosse League season, folded after only a single winless season.
| 1997 Major Indoor Lacrosse League | |||||
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity | ||
| Baltimore Thunder | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Arena | 10,582 | ||
| Boston Blazers | Boston, Massachusetts | FleetCenter | 17,850 | ||
| Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | Marine Midland Arena | 18,595 | ||
| New York Saints | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 16,297 | ||
| Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | CoreStates Center | 19,463 | ||
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Rochester Community War Memorial | 10,662 | ||
No All-Star Game was played in 1997.
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP Award | Gary Gait | Philadelphia |
| Rookie of the Year Award | Jeff Wilfong | Boston |
| Championship Game MVP | Steve Dietrich | Rochester |
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 |
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 |
First Team:
Second Team:
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 |
| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance[1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bandits | 2 | 15,085 | 30,170 | |
| Philadelphia Wings | 1 | 9,372 | 9,372 | |
| League | 3 | 13,181 | 39,542 |