Rockland Nationals The Rockland Nationals Junior Hockey Club is a Canadian Junior ice hockey team from Rockland , Ontario , Canada . They are a part of the Eastern Ontario Junior C 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 seasons 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 . To this date , the Rockland Nationals are the only team in CJHL history to have won a Tier II Junior " A " National title . 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 Islanders . 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 and so far only time a team from the Central Junior A Hockey League has 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 "