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Cumberland Castors

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(Redirected from Clarence Castors)
Cumberland Castors
CityOrleans, Ontario, Canada
LeagueNational Capital Junior Hockey League
Founded1987
Home arenaRay Friel Recreation Complex
ColoursBlue, white, orange
     
General managerTim Kosch
Head coachTim Kosch
Franchise history
1987-2017Rockland Nationals
2017-2023Clarence Castors
2023-currentCumberland Castors

The Cumberland Castors are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team playing out of Cumberland, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the National Capital Junior Hockey League.

The Castors operated from 1987-2017 as the Rockland Nationals in Rockland, Ontario.

History

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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 season 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. Until the Pembroke Lumber Kings won the 2011 Royal Bank Cup, the Nationals were the only team in Central League history to win a national championship.

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 and on

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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 Colonels. 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 time a team from the Central Junior A Hockey League had 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.

The Rockland Nationals returned in 1987, ten years after folding. Before the start of 2017-2018 season, the Rockland Nationals were renamed to Les Castors de Clarence (or Clarence Castors) and have moved to the Clarence Creek Arena in Clarence-Rockland, Ontario. After the 2022-23 season the team relocated to Orleans/Cumberland and became the Cumberland Castors.

Season-by-season record

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Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs
1973-74 50 13 33 4 - 260 349 30 6th CJHL
1974-75 50 25 18 7 - 251 249 57 3rd CJHL
1975-76 50 31 11 8 - 324 225 70 1st CJHL Won League, won DHC, won MCC
1976-77 50 22 22 6 - 243 230 50 4th CJHL
1977-87 Did Not Participate
1987-04 Eastern Jr. C Standings Not Available
2004-05 36 20 13 0 3 172 133 43 4th EOJCHL Lost semi-final
2005-06 36 14 20 - 2 143 183 30 5th EOJCHL Lost quarter-final
2006-07 34 8 25 - 1 96 200 17 8th EOJCHL Lost quarter-final
2007-08 35 18 15 - 2 146 143 38 3rd EOJCHL Lost semi-final
2008-09 33 10 22 - 1 154 208 21 7th EOJCHL Lost quarter-final
2009-10 34 17 13 - 4 159 148 38 4th EOJCHL Lost final
2010-11 34 22 9 - 3 182 164 47 2nd NCJHL Lost final
2011-12 32 16 15 - 1 132 132 33 5th NCJHL Lost semi-final
2012-13 34 14 17 - 3 135 157 31 5th NCJHL Lost semi-final
2013-14 32 13 16 - 3 116 147 29 6th NCJHL Lost quarter-final
2014-15 32 5 26 - 1 90 198 11 9th NCJHL did not qualify
2015-16 34 18 14 - 2 144 132 38 2nd of 5 North
5th of 10 NCJHL
Lost div semi-finals (2-4)(Volants)
2016-17 32 16 15 - 1 159 166 31 5th of 9 NCJHL Lost quarterfinals (1-4)(Cougars)
Clarence Castors
2017-18 33 20 12 - 1 165 129 41 6th of 12 NCJHL Won quarterfinals (4-2)(Volants)
Lost semifinals (2-4) Vikings
2018-19 36 29 6 - 1 193 95 59 1st of 5 East
1st of 10 NCJHL
Won quarterfinals (4-0)(Volants)
Won semifinals (4-1) Rockets
Lost finals (0-4) Cougars
2020-21 Season lost to covid-19
2021-22 23 19 3 1 - 96 50 39 1st of 9 NCJHL Won quarterfinals (3-0)(Jets)
Won semifinals (4-3) (Hull-Volants)
Won finals, (4-0) (Rangers)
NCJHL CHAMPIONS
2022-23 35 24 8 2 1 174 110 51 2nd of 10 NCJHL Won quarterfinals (3-2)(Lions)
Won Semifinals (4-2) (Rockets)
Lost finals, 0-4 (Hull-Volants)
Cumberland Castors
2023-24 34 18 13 2 1 134 112 39 4th of 10 NCJHL Won quarterfinals (4-1)(Rideaus)
Lost Semifinals (3-4) (Hull-Volants)
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Preceded by Centennial Cup Champions
1976
Succeeded by