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It’s not easy beating a team seven times in a row.

The Jr. A Colts had to work a little bit of overtime on Thursday night to get the job done, trimming the Bears 4-3 at the civic complex, in what was Cornwall’s first playoff game since the spring of 2015.

Defenseman Sebastian Dirven was the OT hero against a Smiths Falls team the Colts beat six times in the season, scoring the winner 1:15 into the extra frame.

Nick Lalonde in the corner sent a lovely pass across the ice to Dirven, who unleashed a high wrist shot from close to the top of the circle, one that beat goalie Bo Taylor to the far side.

“I knew we had guys over on that side,’’ Dirven said, talking about the possibility of perhaps someone banging in a rebound.

It didn’t come to that – the shot went right in.

What wasn’t so simple was explaining the extreme degree of difficulty in winning the opener.

“It could be (a long series) if we keep playing like that,’’ Dirven said. “We didn’t move our feet well, we weren’t first to pucks. . .we need to be better in our own end, and we need to put our bodies on the line more.’’

Game 2 is in Smiths Falls on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., and the series comes back to Cornwall for Game 3, on Sunday at 7 p.m.

With the score tied 2-2 in the third period, this was a game in search of a signature play. One came along, with 7:41 left. Cornwall defensemanTristan Conrad made a gorgeous cross-ice pass, blueline to blueline, that sent Christopher Mammas in alone. Mammas connected, firing high over Taylor and ringing a shot in off the crossbar.

But Cole Busschaert, with his second goal of the game, snuck a shot past Cornwall goalie Liam Lascelle with 3:30 left to tie the score 3-3.

From a cosmetic standpoint, Game 1 was, at times, a thing of beauty. The first 16 minutes of the middle period, for example, was practically straight time – there were only a handful of play stoppages.

It was fast-moving back and forth action, with some heavy hits sprinkled in. How long will it play out like that? With the games coming fast and furious, the first four of them in a six-day span, expect the pace to slow, at least a little bit.

But the opener hinted at, possibly, a long and quite entertaining series. The fact that Cornwall finished second overall in the Central Canada Hockey League this year, with 34 more points than a sub-.500 Bears team that was 0-6 against the Colts? Sure, that matters, but it doesn’t count for too much now, and the Colts already are well aware that some strange things can happen in first-round series’.

That middle period didn’t produce any scoring – it stayed 2-2. But the Bears almost struck a real blow in the final minute, a breakaway opportunity for Tre Folkes, a chance to take a lead to the dressing room. Folkes got off a snapshot from close range, but Lascelle kept it from crossing the goal line – barely – and the game stayed tied.

The game got off to a rousing start, a goal for Cornwall off the stick of Konnor MacCormick just 1:51 into the action.

But the Bears answered that and more midway in the period, with a pair of goals just 52 seconds apart. First, Nicolas Coates tied it up at the 12:02 mark. Then, at 12:54, Busschaert gave the visitors a lead, 2-1.

But the Colts got even before intermission, Brennan Markell scoring at the 18:45 mark.

Cornwall outshot Smiths Falls 36-20. Game stars, in front of an announced crowd of 880, were Dirven (first), Justin McRae (second) and Busschaert.

Game 4 is in Smiths Falls on Tuesday. The if-necessary games are Thurs., Mar. 23 (Game 5 in Cornwall), Fri., Mar. 24 (Game 6 in Smiths Falls) and Tues., Mar. 28 (Game 7 in Cornwall).

The CCHL post-season got underway on Wednesday night, with the Brockville Braves playing in Ottawa against the Jr. Senators.

The league’s top goaltender, Henry Johnson, turned in a stellar performance for the underdog Braves, making 35 saves, but the Jr. Senators were able to post an overtime 2-1 win, with Luke McCaw scoring an unassisted goal just 11 seconds into the extra session.

The Carleton Place Canadians are the three-time defending CCHL playoff champions, looking to go to their fourth straight Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian Championship event.

This year’s Fred Page Cup will be played in the Montreal suburb of Terrebonne, in late April. The winning team will advance to the Royal Bank Cup nationals, being held in May in Cobourg.

thambleton@postmedia.com