#CentennialCup | The Rockland Nationals dropped a 7-6 decision to the Niverville Nighthawks in preliminary-round action at Credit Union Place on Wednesday afternoon.
Rockland battled back multiple times after trailing 2-0 early in the first period. Niverville opened the scoring on goals from Max Dowse at 3:18 and Hayden Wheddon at 9:10, but the Nationals answered quickly. Mavrick Brunet got Rockland on the board with a power-play marker at 13:56, finishing feeds from Alex Kelloway and Vital Dinis. Gabriel Le Houillier tied the game 2-2 late in the opening frame off assists from Noah Laframboise and Nolan Turnbull.
The Nationals grabbed their first lead just 1:22 into the second period when Guillaume Labre scored from Justin Garneau and Dinis. Niverville responded with consecutive goals from Adam Vigfusson and Merik Boles to regain a 4-3 edge before Taylor Laframboise tied the game again at 15:37, converting passes from Mathis Baril and Noah Laframboise.
Dawson Zeller scored late on the power play to give the Niverville Nighthawks a 5-4 lead heading into the third. Niverville extended the advantage only 14 seconds into the final period as Wheddon buried his second of the afternoon. Rockland refused to go away. Jérémy Belleau cut the deficit to one midway through the third off assists from Brunet and Moussa Seydi, and Alex Kelloway tied the contest 6-6 on a power-play goal at 10:34, set up by Brunet and Dinis.
The winning goal came with 3:33 remaining when Dawson Zeller struck for his second of the game, assisted by Kole Mears, sealing the 7-6 victory for Niverville.
Brunet led the Nationals offensively with a goal and two assists, while Vital Dinis added three assists. Alex Kelloway had a goal and an assist, and Noah Laframboise chipped in two assists from the blue line.
Game Summary: https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/national-championships/men/national-junior-a/2026/stats/game-summary/5649
Photo Credit: Mike Bernard/Hockey Canada Images
