LAURIE WEIR

The league-leading Rockland Nationals shut out the Smiths Falls Jr. A Bears 4-0 on Friday, Jan. 24, in Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) action at the Smiths Falls Memorial Community Centre, in front of 351 fans.

Despite outshooting their opponents 32-16, the Bears were unable to solve Rockland’s red-hot goaltender, Benoit Forget, who earned the shutout and was named the game’s first star.

Jacob Charron led the Nationals with two goals, securing second-star honours, while Smiths Falls’ Tyson Parker was named the third star.

Rockland opened the scoring at 14:10 of the first period when Anthony Hall found the back of the net, assisted by Joshua Penney. Charron extended the Nationals’ lead in the second period with back-to-back goals, the first coming on the power play with an assist from Hall. Remi Gagne added another assist on Charron’s second goal.

The Bears pulled their goaltender late in the third period to try and mount a comeback, but Rockland’s Josh O’Connor sealed the 4-0 win with an unassisted empty-net goal.

With the loss, Smiths Falls dropped to 10th place in the standings. However, they remain in the hunt for a playoff spot, sitting just two points behind Brockville and Kemptville, who are tied for the eighth and final playoff position.

Meanwhile, Rockland continues to dominate the league with an impressive 32-5-1 record, boasting 65 points. They hold a commanding 15-point lead over Carleton Place, who tops the Robinson Division with a 23-12-1-3 record.

The Bears faced the Hawkesbury Hawks in a rare Sunday afternoon home game yesterday, with a 4:30 p.m. puck drop.