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Season opens on December 1st. Find 2023-24 schedules here and buy your tickets today

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WK
1
Fri, Dec 1
19:00:00
Saskatchewan
Halifax
Fri, Dec 1
22:00:00
Albany
Las Vegas
Fri, Dec 1
22:00:00
Panther City
Vancouver
Sat, Dec 2
19:00:00
Calgary
Rochester
Sat, Dec 2
19:30:00
Philadelphia
New York
WK
2
Sat, Dec 9
19:00:00
Philadelphia
Toronto
Sat, Dec 9
19:00:00
Buffalo
Albany
Sat, Dec 9
19:30:00
Colorado
Georgia
Sat, Dec 9
20:00:00
Rochester
Saskatchewan
Sat, Dec 9
22:00:00
Calgary
San Diego
Sun, Dec 10
16:00:00
Las Vegas
Panther City
WK
3
Fri, Dec 15
22:00:00
Saskatchewan
Las Vegas
Sat, Dec 16
13:00:00
Albany
Philadelphia
Sat, Dec 16
19:30:00
Halifax
New York
Sat, Dec 16
19:30:00
San Diego
Buffalo
Sat, Dec 16
22:00:00
Georgia
Vancouver
WK
4
Fri, Dec 22
20:00:00
Toronto
Panther City
Fri, Dec 22
21:00:00
Georgia
Colorado
Sat, Dec 23
19:00:00
Vancouver
Rochester
WK
5
Fri, Dec 29
18:30:00
Philadelphia
Halifax
Fri, Dec 29
19:30:00
Georgia
Buffalo
Fri, Dec 29
22:00:00
Rochester
San Diego
Sat, Dec 30
16:00:00
New York
Toronto
Sat, Dec 30
21:00:00
Las Vegas
Calgary
Sat, Dec 30
21:00:00
Vancouver
Colorado
Sun, Dec 31
20:00:00
Albany
Saskatchewan
WK
6
Sat, Jan 6
19:00:00
Halifax
Albany
Sat, Jan 6
19:30:00
Panther City
Georgia
Sat, Jan 6
19:30:00
Colorado
Buffalo
Sun, Jan 7
15:00:00
New York
Philadelphia
WK
7
Fri, Jan 12
18:30:00
Toronto
Halifax
Fri, Jan 12
22:00:00
San Diego
Las Vegas
Sat, Jan 13
19:00:00
Buffalo
Rochester
Sat, Jan 13
19:00:00
Saskatchewan
Philadelphia
Sat, Jan 13
19:30:00
Panther City
New York
Sat, Jan 13
19:30:00
Albany
Georgia
Sat, Jan 13
21:00:00
San Diego
Colorado
Sat, Jan 13
22:00:00
Calgary
Vancouver
WK
8
Fri, Jan 19
19:30:00
New York
Buffalo
Sat, Jan 20
19:00:00
Georgia
Toronto
Sat, Jan 20
19:00:00
San Diego
Albany
Sat, Jan 20
20:00:00
Vancouver
Saskatchewan
Sat, Jan 20
21:00:00
Calgary
Colorado
WK
9
Fri, Jan 26
22:00:00
Colorado
Vancouver
Sat, Jan 27
18:00:00
Rochester
Halifax
Sat, Jan 27
19:00:00
Buffalo
Toronto
Sat, Jan 27
19:30:00
Georgia
New York
Sat, Jan 27
19:30:00
San Diego
Philadelphia
Sat, Jan 27
22:00:00
Panther City
Las Vegas
WK
10
Fri, Feb 2
19:00:00
Halifax
Philadelphia
Fri, Feb 2
19:30:00
Vancouver
Georgia
Fri, Feb 2
21:00:00
New York
Calgary
Sat, Feb 3
19:00:00
Las Vegas
Albany
Sat, Feb 3
19:30:00
Rochester
Buffalo
Sat, Feb 3
20:00:00
Panther City
Saskatchewan
Sat, Feb 3
21:00:00
Toronto
Calgary
Sun, Feb 4
18:00:00
Colorado
San Diego
WK
11
Fri, Feb 9
18:30:00
Las Vegas
Halifax
Fri, Feb 9
20:00:00
Colorado
Panther City
Sat, Feb 10
19:00:00
Georgia
Rochester
Sat, Feb 10
19:00:00
Calgary
Toronto
Sat, Feb 10
19:30:00
San Diego
New York
Sat, Feb 10
22:00:00
Saskatchewan
Vancouver
WK
12
Fri, Feb 16
18:30:00
Buffalo
Halifax
Fri, Feb 16
22:00:00
Philadelphia
Las Vegas
Sat, Feb 17
19:00:00
Colorado
Albany
Sun, Feb 18
19:00:00
Halifax
Calgary
WK
13
Fri, Feb 23
21:00:00
New York
Colorado
Fri, Feb 23
22:00:00
Georgia
San Diego
Sat, Feb 24
19:00:00
Las Vegas
Rochester
Sat, Feb 24
19:00:00
Vancouver
Toronto
Sat, Feb 24
19:30:00
Albany
Buffalo
Sat, Feb 24
20:00:00
Halifax
Saskatchewan
Sat, Feb 24
21:00:00
Philadelphia
Calgary
Sun, Feb 25
16:00:00
Georgia
Panther City
WK
14
Fri, Mar 1
19:00:00
Georgia
Halifax
Fri, Mar 1
20:00:00
San Diego
Panther City
Fri, Mar 1
22:00:00
Toronto
Las Vegas
Fri, Mar 1
22:00:00
Buffalo
Vancouver
Sat, Mar 2
13:00:00
Calgary
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 2
19:00:00
New York
Albany
Sat, Mar 2
21:00:00
Saskatchewan
Colorado
Sat, Mar 2
22:00:00
Toronto
San Diego
Sun, Mar 3
16:00:00
Rochester
Panther City
WK
15
Fri, Mar 8
19:00:00
Vancouver
Albany
Fri, Mar 8
19:30:00
Calgary
Georgia
Fri, Mar 8
19:30:00
Saskatchewan
Buffalo
Sat, Mar 9
17:00:00
Colorado
Toronto
Sat, Mar 9
19:00:00
Albany
Rochester
Sat, Mar 9
19:30:00
Las Vegas
New York
Sat, Mar 9
22:00:00
Halifax
San Diego
Sun, Mar 10
15:00:00
Panther City
Philadelphia
WK
16
Fri, Mar 15
18:30:00
Panther City
Halifax
Fri, Mar 15
21:00:00
San Diego
Calgary
Fri, Mar 15
22:00:00
Las Vegas
Vancouver
Sat, Mar 16
19:00:00
Rochester
Albany
Sat, Mar 16
19:00:00
Toronto
Buffalo
Sat, Mar 16
19:30:00
Philadelphia
Georgia
Sat, Mar 16
20:30:00
New York
Saskatchewan
WK
17
Fri, Mar 22
20:00:00
Buffalo
Panther City
Fri, Mar 22
21:00:00
Albany
Calgary
Sat, Mar 23
19:00:00
Halifax
Toronto
Sat, Mar 23
19:00:00
Vancouver
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 23
19:30:00
Saskatchewan
New York
Sat, Mar 23
21:00:00
Rochester
Colorado
Sat, Mar 23
22:00:00
Las Vegas
San Diego
Sun, Mar 24
17:30:00
Saskatchewan
Georgia
WK
18
Sat, Mar 30
13:00:00
Buffalo
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 30
19:00:00
Halifax
Rochester
Sat, Mar 30
19:30:00
Toronto
New York
Sat, Mar 30
22:00:00
Vancouver
Las Vegas
WK
19
Fri, Apr 5
21:00:00
Saskatchewan
Calgary
Fri, Apr 5
21:00:00
Buffalo
Colorado
Fri, Apr 5
22:00:00
Panther City
San Diego
Fri, Apr 5
22:00:00
Halifax
Vancouver
Sat, Apr 6
19:00:00
New York
Rochester
Sat, Apr 6
19:00:00
Toronto
Albany
Sat, Apr 6
19:30:00
Las Vegas
Georgia
Sat, Apr 6
20:00:00
Calgary
Saskatchewan
Sun, Apr 7
16:00:00
Philadelphia
Panther City
WK
20
Fri, Apr 12
21:00:00
Philadelphia
Colorado
Sat, Apr 13
19:00:00
Rochester
Toronto
Sat, Apr 13
19:30:00
Calgary
Buffalo
Sat, Apr 13
20:00:00
San Diego
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 13
22:00:00
Colorado
Las Vegas
Sat, Apr 13
22:00:00
New York
Vancouver
Sun, Apr 14
16:00:00
Albany
Panther City
WK
21
Fri, Apr 19
19:30:00
Rochester
Georgia
Fri, Apr 19
22:00:00
Vancouver
San Diego
Sat, Apr 20
18:00:00
Colorado
Halifax
Sat, Apr 20
19:30:00
Albany
New York
Sat, Apr 20
20:00:00
Toronto
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 20
21:00:00
Panther City
Calgary
Sat, Apr 20
22:00:00
Buffalo
Las Vegas
Sun, Apr 21
15:00:00
Philadelphia
Rochester
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Stories/Op-Ed

Gajic An Ambassador On And Off The Floor

By Stephen Stamp | Staff Writer

There’s a lot more to lacrosse teams and their players than we see on the floor.  A great example from the roster of the Colorado Mammoth is transition player Ilija Gajic.

Gajic could apparently do it all when he was moving into senior lacrosse. How tough was he to face? His current coach in Colorado, Chris Gill, was playing with the New Westminster Salmonbellies of the Western Lacrosse Association when Gajic was named the top graduating player in the BC junior league. Gill was helping the Bellies’ coaches prepare for the WLA draft.

“In their draft prep they had 10 or 15 questions they asked every single draftee,” Gill relates. “One was, who was the toughest guy in junior and who was the scariest guy to play against, and every single answer was Ilija.”

Needless to say, New Westminster picked Gajic and he was a key member of the team, helping lead them to three straight Mann Cup finals beginning in 2008. The same athleticism, toughness and drive led to him being the second overall pick by Colorado in the 2009 NLL draft.

He was originally seen as an offensive player, based on his raw talent. As he will himself profess, playing in an offensive structure wasn’t his greatest asset, though. As Gill points out, “His best part of his offence was running the ball from centre in and just picking and choosing whether he was going to pass, shoot or go on a breakaway. He could read the play and he was so strong.”

Eventually, he shifted to a transition role and is once again a valuable member of the Mammoth roster after a two-year stint with the Vancouver Stealth.

As mentioned above, there’s a lot more to Gajic’s story than his skill and what he does on the turf. Gajic has always been a fan favourite, largely because he is so accessible to and friendly with the fans.

“Every single kid wanted to talk to him after the game,” Gill says of their time together in New West. “We’d go out there for three stars, he was always one of the stars. The coach would be in the dressing room wanting to talk and Ilija’s still out there talking to the fans, talking to the kids, signing autographs. Yeah, he lives for that stuff, man. He’s a great ambassador of the game.”

It’s more than just mingling with fans, though. Gajic enjoys and even seeks out chances to visit children’s hospitals and take part in events to support worthy causes. He’s a regular at children’s Make A Wish Foundation events in and around Denver, where he played in university before joining the Mammoth.

Gajic, as you might expect, plays down the extracurricular work he does. “Not that I’ve gone out of my way, I’ve just been fortunate to get hooked up with these organizations,” he told NLL.com. He may profess to just being lucky, but you tend to “get hooked up with these organizations” when you virtually never say no to a request and you clearly enjoy yourself while taking part, not to mention bringing joy to the folks you interact with.

Gajic is particularly active with charities addressing colitis and related diseases. It hits close to home since he developed ulcerative colitis in his mid-20s.

“I had to be on drugs and everything. You have to learn how to control it, what your body can take and what it can’t take,” Gajic says. “Fortunately, I don’t have Crohns, I have ulcerative colitis and it’s in a part of the body that can be controlled. I’m not on medication any more but I still hear horror stories from people I’m close to, what they have to deal with and it’s terrible.”

Gajic is glad he was able to keep playing the game he loves, especially given how big a role sports have always played in the life of him and his family. His mother, from Vancouver, was a field hockey player. His dad hails from Serbia and played soccer at a high level. Their four sons—Milan, Nenad, Ilija and Alex, in order of birth—played all kinds of sports but lacrosse is where they really made their mark.

The Burnaby clan were major contributors to the dominant run by their hometown Lakers, among the four of them earning nine Minto Cup championship rings. They also got to play together with the Salmonbellies.

“It was awesome. We’ve been fortunate to be close in age so we’ve gotten to play together a lot. It’s a lot of fun,” Ilija says. “I think once the game starts you forget about it and they’re just any other teammates. But it’s always kind of cool to have that experience. In the future, you can say we all played at a high level together.”

Ilija and Alex have even gotten to play internationally together. They led Serbia to its first ever international wins at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships in 2015.

With his trademark sense of humour, Ilija pumped up the outstanding performance at the tournament by Alex, who lost the sight in one eye several years ago. “He lit it up. He was good out there. The one-eyed bandit was just sniping out there.”

Kids just seem to gravitate towards Ilija. It was no different at the worlds. I was fortunate enough to witness his interaction with a young lacrosse player who travelled from Long Island, New York to the Onondaga Nation to interview players for a school project. The youngster was nervous at first as his mother brought him over to talk with Ilija, but the Serbian made him comfortable throughout the interview.

Gajic didn’t just answer questions, he asked about the young player’s lacrosse league and his project as well, all while sporting a freshly applied cast for the broken thumb he had suffered at the tournament. For those who know him, none of that was out of character or surprising from Gajic. He’s an asset on the floor and an ambassador off it.

And he is more than happy to be part of Serbia’s efforts to grow the game. “Going to play for that country made my dad very proud and therefore made me very proud,” Gajic says. “That’s my team. I love those guys and I can’t wait to get back and hook up with those guys again and battle with them.”

For his teammates and fans in Serbia, Colorado and elsewhere, the feeling is mutual.

NLL