After narrowly getting past the Nepean Raiders, the Rockland Nationals showcased their dominance with back-to-back wins against the Brockville Braves and the Hawkesbury Hawks.
With three more victories last week—one on the road and two at home—the Nats have now won an impressive 20 straight games.
Rockland’s junior A hockey club last lost in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) on Dec. 8, 2024, falling 4-0to the Carleton Place Canadians.
With a record of 40-5-1-0, Rockland sits atop both the Yzerman Division and the overall CCHL standings with 83 points. They are the first team in the league to clinch a postseason berth, with nine games left in the regular season. The team holds a 21-point lead over Carleton Place, which leads the Robinson Division with 62 points.
The Nats have scored a league-best 219 goals while allowing a CCHL-low 110 goals.
OT win over Nepean
At one point during a home matchup against the Nepean Raiders on Valentine’s Day, Rockland’s 17-game win streakappeared in jeopardy.
After jumping out to a 3-0 lead, the Nats saw Nepean storm back with four straight goals. Rockland tied the game at 4-4 on the power play, with just over three minutes left in the second period.
After exchanging goals in the third period, the teams went into overtime tied at five. Rockland’s Alex Kelloway sealed the win with his second goal of the game—his 14th of the season—lifting the Nats to victory. He was named the game’s first star.
Also scoring for Rockland were Rémi Gagné, Tristan Witmer, Gabriel Le Houillier, and Joshua Penney. The Nats dominated shots on goal, outshooting Nepean 58-27.
Braves no match for the Nats
Following their tight victory over Nepean, Rockland was back on home ice on Saturday, Feb. 15, to host the Brockville Braves.
Alex Kelloway picked up where he left off, opening the scoring with his 15th goal of the season, his first of two goalsthat evening, to give Rockland an early 1-0 lead. Mathys Laurent scored just over seven minutes later, and from there, it was all Rockland in a dominant home-ice performance.
The Braves managed one goal late in the second period, cutting Rockland’s lead to 4-1 at that point. But that was all Brockville could muster, as the Nats rolled to a 7-1 victory.
Also scoring for Rockland were Anthony Hall (two goals), Mathis Barila, and Jacob Charron.
Hall added an assist and was named the game’s first star. Sean Hogan was stellar in goal, stopping 30 of 31 shots. Kelloway, with his second consecutive two-goal performance, was named the game’s third star.
Another seven-goal outburst
Riding high after their 7-1 win over Brockville, the Nats hit the road on Family Day (Monday, Feb. 17) to take on the Hawkesbury Hawks. For the second straight game, Rockland put up seven goals.
Danel Myloserdnyy led the charge with two goals and an assist, helping Rockland to a 7-3 road win. He was named the game’s first star, while teammate Jacob Charron earned third-star honours after registering four assists.
Also scoring for Rockland were Rémi Gagné, Anthony Hall, Nathan Landriault, Mathis Baril, and Joshua Penney.
Back on top of the CJHL weekly rankings
Following another dominant week in the CCHL, the Nats have returned to familiar territory—atop the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) Top 20 rankings. Rockland, which has held the top spot multiple times this season, was ranked No. 3 last week.
The Nats host the Ottawa Junior Senators on Friday, Feb. 21, with puck drop set for 7:30 p.m.
