The franchise dates back to the 1968 expansion Ottawa M.&.W (MacIntosh & Watts) Rangers and made their home in Leitrim in south Ottawa. [1] 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 as a player and the team was renamed to the Gloucester Rangers. The team 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 Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). The Canucks tied the game in the dying seconds of the third period and won the Centennial Cup in overtime against the Rangers. 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 Jr. Senators. 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.
Rockland Nationals
In late September 2016, Paul Jennings sold the Gloucester Rangers to an ownership group led by André Chaput, André Charlebois, Amélie Lecompte, Jean-Robert Léger 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 the 2,000-seat Clarence-Rockland Arena to become the Rockland Nationals after playing at the Earl Armstrong for nearly 50 years.
The Rockland Nationals played their first game in Rockland on September 8, 2017 and won the game 3–1 against their fierce rivals Navan Grads in front of a crowd of 1,200. [2] On March 11, 2018, the Nationals qualified for the playoffs in their first season in Rockland following a 3–2 overtime win on the last game of the regular season in Pembroke against the Lumber Kings. [3] They however lost in the first round 4 games to 1 against the Carleton Place Canadians. [4] In their first season in Rockland, the team has averaged 310 fans per game for a total of 9,613 in 31 home games.
On September 7, 2018, a franchise record crowd of 1,400 fans attended the 2018–19 home opener as the Nats invited former Ottawa Senators legend Chris Neil and Ryan Dzingel to make ceremonial puck drop before the game. [5] Rockland was able to pull a 4–1 win over the Navan Grads. [6] They finished the regular season second place in their division with a record of 40–17–5 and have made it to the playoffs for the second straight year. They faced their Highway 17 rivals Hawkesbury Hawks in the quarterfinals and won the series 4 games to 1, and then faced the Carleton Place Canadians in the semifinal round, losing the series 4 games to 1. [7] Their average attendance however increased by 26% from the previous season, to an average of 390 people per game.
After the 2019–20 season, Rockland finished first place in the Yzerman Division with a record of 39–19–4 and qualified for the playoffs for the third straight season. [8] However, the playoffs were later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so was the entire 2020–21 CCHL season. In 2020, the ownership group sold the team to Luc Lavictoire.
During the 2021–22 season, the Nationals finished 4th in their division at 24–24–7 and have qualified for the playoffs for the fourth time in franchise history, but have lost the tie-breaker game against the Smiths Falls Bears 4–1. [9] [10]
In the 2023–24 season, the Nats finished third place in the Yzerman Division at 32–19–3 and qualified for the playoffs for the fifth time in history. [11] They have won the first round against the Renfrew Wolves 4 games to 2, but have lost in the semifinals against the eventual champion Navan Grads in five games. [12]
Following the 2024–25 pre-season, the Rockland Nationals won the first edition of the RE/MAX Cup against their long-time rivals, the Hawkesbury Hawks on September 8, 2024 at Clarence-Rockland Arena. [13]
In the 2024–25 regular season, Rockland started the season by winning their first 12 games in a row to a record of 12–0–0, a franchise record since the 1979–80 season. Their first loss in regulation time occurred on November 8, 2024 in Hawkesbury against the Hawks, to a record of 15–1–1. They finished the regular season first place in the CCHL and third in the CJHL, with a record of 45–8–2. The 2024–25 season was also notable for the Nationals by drawing 14,935 people to its rink for an average of 574 fans per game, the highest in franchise history. [14] [15]
On April 27, 2025 at Carleton Place Arena, Rockland won their fifth Bogart Cup in franchise history by defeating the Carleton Place Canadians in four games, with team forward Anthony Hall scoring the game winner in overtime. [16] The league has given multiple awards to the team, as Justin Pereira was named the CCHL Head Coach of the Year, Carl Robillard was named the CCHL General Manager of the Year, and Denis Dalrymple was named the CCHL Trainer of the Year. [17] [18] The Nats have averaged 1,086 fans in eight playoff home games, including a near-capacity crowd of 1,892 people during Game 7 of the semifinals against the Smiths Falls Bears. [19]
