Rockland Nationals

Rockland Nationals
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City	Rockland, Ontario, Canada
League	National Capital Junior Hockey League
Founded	1987
Home arena	Canadian International Hockey Academy Arena
Colours	Blue, white, green
General manager	Andre Roy
Head coach	Timothy Kosch

The Rockland Nationals are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team from Rockland, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the National Capital Junior Hockey League.

History

The original Nationals were founded in 1973 to replace the Hull Festivals who had just left the Central Junior A Hockey League for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In just three season the Nationals, coached by Bryan Murray, won the league, the Dudley Hewitt Cup as Central Canadian champions, and the Centennial Cup 1976 National Championship. Unfortunately for them, in those days the teams played sets of best-of-seven series to determine the national champion. Many successful Tier II clubs like the Red Deer Rustlers, the Guelph Platers, and the Vernon Vipers franchises were well rooted in their communities when they were victorious, with warchests of cash from major sponsors and massive fan support awaiting long playoff runs. The Nationals were in their infantile stage as an organization and found themselves not only national champions but financially bankrupt from months of travel across the county. They survived one more season on life support funds from the CJHL before packing it in for the 1977-78 season. The fall of the Nationals convinced the CJHL to petition the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association to consider alternate, cheaper, playdown methods to determine regional and national champions. The CAHA answered back a few seasons later with the formation of round-robin championship tournaments. Until the Pembroke Lumber Kings won the 2011 Royal Bank Cup, the Nationals were the only team in Central League history to win a national championship.

A decade later the Nationals were reborn. In 1987, the Nationals entered the Eastern Ontario Junior C Hockey League and won the league title in their first season back in action. In recent years, the Nationals have been pushing to re-enter the CJHL, but with no results so far.

Centennial Cup 1976

In only their third season, the Nationals were league champions. They moved on to take on the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League and Ontario Hockey Association champion Guelph Platers. The series went the distance, but the Nationals pulled out a 4-games-to-3 series win.

The Nationals then took on the Lac-Megantic Royals, the champions of the Quebec Provincial Junior A Hockey League. The Nationals defeated them 4-games-to-1 to get to the Eastern Canadian Championship.

In the Eastern Canadian championship, the Nationals drew the Island Junior Hockey League's Charlottetown Colonels. The Nationals overpowered the Islanders and crushed them 4-games-to-none. In the final, the Nationals came to play the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Doyle Cup, and Abbott Cup Champion Spruce Grove Mets. The Mets were floored by the Nationals in the first two games, losing 9-4 and 7-1 respectively. In Game 3, the Mets pulled close in a 5-3 loss and then took game four 4-3. Game 5 saw the National regain their early series form and crush the Mets 7-3 to win their first and only National title 4-games-to-1.

Their landmark victory, led by coach Bryan Murray, was the first time a team from the Central Junior A Hockey League had won the Junior A National Championship. The cost of the venture left the team in financial turmoil and led to them folding a year later.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Points	Finish	Playoffs
1973-74	50	13	33	4	-	260	349	30	6th CJHL
1974-75	50	25	18	7	-	251	249	57	3rd CJHL
1975-76	50	31	11	8	-	324	225	70	1st CJHL	Won League, Won DHC, Won MCC
1976-77	50	22	22	6	-	243	230	50	4th CJHL
1977-87	Did Not Participate
1987-04	Eastern Jr. C Standings Not Available
2004-05	36	20	13	0	3	172	133	43	4th EOJCHL	Lost Semi-final
2005-06	36	14	20	-	2	143	183	30	5th EOJCHL	Lost Quarter-final
2006-07	34	8	25	-	1	96	200	17	8th EOJCHL	Lost Quarter-final
2007-08	35	18	15	-	2	146	143	38	3rd EOJCHL	Lost Semi-final
2008-09	33	10	22	-	1	154	208	21	7th EOJCHL	Lost Quarter-Final
2009-10	34	17	13	-	4	159	148	38	4th EOJCHL	Lost Final
2010-11	34	22	9	-	3	182	164	47	2nd NCJHL	Lost Final
2011-12	32	16	15	-	1	132	132	33	5th NCJHL	Lost Semi-final
2012-13	34	14	17	-	3	135	157	31	5th NCJHL	Lost Semi-final
2013-14	32	13	16	-	3	116	147	29	6th NCJHL	Lost Quarter-Final
2014-15	32	5	26	-	1	90	198	11	9th NCJHL	did not qualify

Individual Player Awards

Season	Name	Award
2011-12	Chris 'Tele' Telford	Best Goaltender
2010-11	Kyle Blohm	Most Improved Player
2009-10	Corey Oliver	Top Scorer
2007-08	John Leboeuf	Coach of the Year
	Denis Brunet	Executive of the Year
	Gus Sacoutis	Best Defensive Forward
	Alex Bernard	Most Sportsmanlike Player
2005-06	Alex Bernard	Best Defensive Forward
	Guy Audet	Most Sportsmanlike Player
	Ghyslain Hotte	Most Valuable Player
2004-05	Guy Audet	Best Defensive Forward
2002-03	Rene Tasse	Best Defenseman
2000-01	Chris Verdon	Most Improved Player
1998-99	Christian Groleau	Best Defenseman
1997-98	Alain Paquette	Most Improved Player
1996-97	Christian Bessette	Best Defenseman
1994-95	Yanick Vinette	Most Valuable Player
	Darren Proulx	Coach of the Year
	Martin Gauthier	Most Improved Player
	Christian Mercier	Most Sportsmanlike Player
1993-94	Darren Proulx	Coach of the Year
	Serge Lavictoire	Most Improved Player
1992-93	Stephane Groulx	Most Valuable Player
1991-92	Jeff Egan	Best Defenseman
1990-91	Andre Charlebois	Best Defenseman
	Marc Rousseau	Best Defensive Forward
1989-90	Luc Lavictoire	Best Defenseman
	Marc Rousseau	Best Defensive Forward
	Bob Fairfield	Coach of the Year
	Bernie Dion	Most Valuable Player
1988-89	Jean Maisonnneuve	Most Sportsmanlike Player

External links

• Nationals Homepage
• Revisiting the 1975-76 Rockland Nationals

Preceded by Spruce Grove Mets

Centennial Cup Champions 1976

Succeeded by Prince Albert Raiders