Jason La Rose
Three minutes.
That’s how far the Rockland Nationals were from a place in the championship game at the 2025 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons.
The Nationals led the host Calgary Canucks 2-0 in the final minute of the second period and 2-1 as the minutes ticked down in the third, only for the Canucks to tie the semifinal late and win it in overtime en route to a home-ice national title.
Twelve months later, Rockland is back at Canada’s National Junior A Championship with unfinished business.
Eight players who experienced that semifinal setback in Calgary helped the Nationals run roughshod over the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), going 52-3 to set a CCHL record for highest win percentage (.945). That mark also led the 116-team Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) as the only team to win 90% of its games.
They were just as dominant in the postseason, dropping just a single game—Game 4 of their first-round series against Carleton Place—and swept aside Kemptville and Smiths Falls in the semifinals and final to book a return trip to the national championship.
Rockland led the CCHL in goals for (284) and power play (29.95%), and was second in goals against (125) and penalty kill (88.02%), all marks that landed in the top 10 of all CJHL teams—fourth, fourth, 10th and second, respectively.
Gabriel Le Houillier scored both goals for the Nationals in that semifinal loss to Calgary a year ago, two of the six he scored in the tournament to go along with four assists. A year later, he will come to Summerside with more regular-season goals and points than any Junior A player in Canada—he posted 59 and 120 to top the CCHL scoring race.
Rockland iced two of the four players across Canada to reach the 100-point plateau, with Mavrick Brunet (26-77—103) leading the nation in assists riding shotgun alongside Le Houillier.
This year marks 50 years since the Nationals—in a past iteration of the franchise—won their lone national championship; in the days of the East vs. West final series, Rockland downed the Spruce Grove Mets in five games to win the 1976 Centennial Cup.
HOW THEY GOT TO SUMMERSIDE
Central Canada Hockey League Quarterfinal: defeated Carleton Place Canadians 4-1 (8-4, 8-1, 4-2, 1-4, 5-3) Semifinal: defeated Kemptville 73’s 4-0 (4-2, 5-1, 5-1, 3-1) Final: defeated Smiths Falls Bears 4-0 (3-1, 4-3 OT, 4-3, 6-2)
REGULAR SEASON
Record (W-L-OTL): 52-3-0 (1st in CCHL) Goals for: 284 (1st in CCHL) Goals against: 125 (2nd in CCHL) Power play: 59 for 197 (29.9% – 1st in CCHL) Penalty killing: 169 of 192 (88.0% – 2nd in CCHL) Longest winning streak: 26 (Nov. 14-Feb. 23)
Top 3 scorers: • Gabriel Le Houillier (59G 61A 120P – 1st in CCHL) • Mavrick Brunet (26G 77A 103P – 2nd in CCHL) • Vital Dinis (29G 51A 80P – 3rd in CCHL)
PLAYOFFS
Record: 12-1 Goals for: 60 Goals against: 28 Power play: 13 for 52 (25.0%) Penalty killing: 48 of 58 (82.8%)
Top 3 scorers: • Mavrick Brunet (8G 26A 34P) • Gabriel Le Houillier (18G 15A 33P) • Alex Kelloway (6G 10A 16P)
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1995 – Gloucester Rangers | runners-up | 3-3 | 27GF 18GA 2025 – Rockland Nationals | 4th place | 3-3 | 27GF 18GA
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS
Mathys Laurent – Concordia University (2026-27) Danel Myloserdnyy – Concordia University (2026-27) Connor Pierson – Skidmore College (2026-27)
CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS
Sept. 29 – 6th Oct. 6 – 3rd Oct. 13 – 2nd Oct. 20 – 2nd Oct. 27 – 2nd Nov. 3 – 2nd Nov. 10 – 3rd Nov. 17 – 3rd Nov. 24 – 3rd Dec. 1 – 3rd Dec. 8 – 2nd Dec. 15 – 1st Dec. 22 – 1st Jan. 5 – 1st Jan. 12 – 1st Jan. 19 – 1st Jan. 26 – 1st Feb. 2 – 1st Feb. 9 – 1st Feb. 16 – 1st Feb. 23 – 1st March 2 – 1st March 9 – 1st