The Rockland Nationals are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from

Rockland Rockland may refer to: People *Per Bergsland, nicknamed Peter Rockland, one of three successful escapees from Stalag Luft III (the "Great Escape") Places ;In Canada *Rockland, Greater Victoria *Rockland, Nova Scotia *Rockland, Ontario ;In the Uni ...

, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Central Canada Hockey League. The Rockland Nationals will begin play in 2017-18, after the Gloucester Rangers relocated to Rockland after nearly 50 years in Gloucester.

History

The franchise dates back to the 1968 expansion Ottawa M.&.W (MacIntosh & Watts) Rangers and made their home in Leitrim in south Ottawa. In 1972, the M&W Rangers became the Gloucester Rangers and played out of the Earl Armstrong Arena. The 1972–73 season was coached by Derek Holmes, and included

Mark Aubry Mark John Aubry (born November 24, 1954) is a Canadian physician and sports medicine specialist. He is the team physician for the Ottawa Senators, and serves as the Chief Medical Officer of both the International Ice Hockey Federation, and Hoc ...

as a player. The Rangers won their first Art Bogart Cup as league champions in 1981 by defeating the Pembroke Lumber Kings. The 1995 Centennial Cup (now Royal Bank Cup) was awarded to the City of Gloucester and the Gloucester Rangers. The Rangers, who were up by a goal in the championship game against the Calgary Canucks of the AJHL. The Canucks tied the game in the dying seconds and won the Centennial Cup in overtime. After their last playoff appearance of the 20th century, the Rangers fell on hard times missing the playoffs multiple times. In 2002, new owners decided to change the colours to Black, Purple, and Silver. The team rebuilt with blockbuster trades with cross-town rivals and defending league champions

Ottawa Junior Senators Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core of ...

. Unfortunately, the Rangers came close to winning the 2004 league championship by one goal in a sudden death game 7 to Nepean. In October 2004, coaching staff walking out of the organization over disagreements with management and ownership leaving the team with a shortage of players throughout the season through trades and releases. The team was sold to a group of Orleans businessmen in April 2005, who re-branded the team as the Orleans Blues, but couldn't move to Orleans, Ontario because of an inadequate arena, and therefore were forced to change back to the Gloucester Rangers for the 2008-09 season.

New ownership and final season in Gloucester

In late September 2016, Paul Jennings sold the Gloucester Rangers to a group of partners being André Chaput, André Charlebois & Amélie Lecompte, Jean-Robert Leger and Robert Bourdeau. Paul Jennings purchased the Orleans Blues franchise from Chaput in 2007. The Gloucester Rangers finished the 2016-17 season and relocated to Rockland, Ontario to become the Rockland Nationals after playing at the aging Earl Armstrong for nearly 50 years. In 2020, the ownership team changed with the sale of André Chaput’s share to Luc Lavictoire and Julie Budd.

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

Championships

:CJHL Bogart Cup Championships: 1970, 1971, 1981, 1994 (Gloucester Rangers) Centennial Cup Champions 1976 (Rockland Nationals] :Eastern Canadian Fred Page Cup Championships: None :CJAHL

Royal Bank Cup Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

Championships: None https://www.rocklandnationalsjuniora.com/franchise-record

Notable alumni

* John Barrett * Dan Boyle *Josh Bower *

Todd Charlesworth Todd Charlesworth (born March 22, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 93 games in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based ...

Mathieu Dandenault Mathieu Alexandre Dandenault (born February 3, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a member of the 1997, 1998, a ...

* P.C. Drouin *

Blake Dunlop Blake Robert Dunlop (born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) forward who played during the 1970s and early 1980s. Prior to turning pro, Dunlop played four seasons with the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey Associati ...

* Jerome Dupont * Robert Esche * Todd Flichel * Mark Fraser * Garry Galley *

Steve Guenette Steven P. Guenette (born November 13, 1965) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 35 games in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Calgary Flames. Playing career Guenette signed with the Penguin ...

* Derek Holmes * Mitch Lamoureux * Gary Laskoski * Claude Loiselle * Larry Robinson * Moe Robinson * Andre Savage *

Larry Trader Lawrence Jerome Trader (born July 7, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played a handful of games at the NHL level, but is mostly known for his high scoring in the American Hockey League and overseas. He last played ...

* Bob Warner *

Steve Washburn Steven Robert Washburn (born April 10, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played parts of six seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1995 and 2001 for the Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks and Philadelph ...

* Sean Whyte

References

External links

Gloucester Rangers Webpage
{{CJHL Central Canada Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in Ottawa Ice hockey clubs established in 1968 1968 establishments in Ontario