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The Bears went, but not quietly.

“They just don’t quit,” said Brennan Markell, who scored twice for the Cornwall Colts, as they eliminated the Smiths Falls Bears from the CCHL playoffs with a 5-3 victory at the civic complex on Thursday evening.

Down 3-0 in the series, and 3-1 in Game 5 on Thursday, the Bears just wouldn’t go away. They won Game 4 at home on Tuesday, and pulled even with the Colts at 3-3 late in the third period of Game 5.

“They’ve always been a good team, they play hard. That’s why both games went to overtime,” said Markell, referring to the first two games of the series, both won by the Colts in overtime.

It looked like Game 5 could be headed for the extra session too, after Hayden Hart scored with 7:56 remaining in regulation, but Konnor MacCormick scored the winner for the Colts, with 3:33 on the clock. Grant Cooper iced the win with an empty-netter with 40 seconds left.

MacCormick batted home a rebound following a rush down the left side, and subsequent shot, by Ethan Mulhearn. The puck barely got past Smiths Falls goalie Bradley Dobson, but it was enough to effectively end the season for the Bears.

“All that matters is that we got the win in the end,” said Markell.

“It’s the first playoffs for a lot of guys, including myself, and we’ll definitely take it as a learning experience.”

The Colts are definitely learning how to win the close ones, something they’ll need to continue in the next round, which will almost certainly be against the Ottawa Junior Senators.

“I’ll say we can always play better,” said Markell, who opened the scoring in Game 5, connecting on a Cornwall power-play 9:37 in, accepting a pass from Sebastian Dirven in front of Dobson and employing a favourite move of number 92, deking backhand before tucking the puck between the legs of the netminder.

Markell then upped the Colts’ lead to two with 4:50 remaining in the opening frame, banging home a rebound following a shot from the point by Tristan Conrad.

A late power-play opportunity afforded the Colts the chance to bury the Bears, but instead it was Smiths Falls coming to life, Hunter Garlasco scoring a shorthanded goal with just 26 seconds left in the period.

The Colts went back in front by a pair, Dean Derouchie banging one off the crossbar and in 9:23 into the middle period, but those pesky Bears pulled back within a goal just over seven minutes later. After buzzing in the Cornwall zone for a few shifts, the Bears were finally rewarded, Kyle Dowdall deflecting the puck past Colts’ netminder Liam Lascelle.

“Liam’s been unbelievable for us, and it’s nice to get him the win,” said Markell, who likes the way the team is playing in front of the Cornwall netminder.
“We’re blocking a lot of shots, and that’s what we have to do.”

• Ottawa eliminated the Brockville Braves on Thursday, winning 2-1 in Ottawa. Jaren Burke had both goals for the Sens.

• Also on Thursday, Kemptville evened its series with Hawkesbury at 2-2, winning 4-0 at home. Victor Tracy had a hat trick for Kemptville, with Nicholas Hodgins earning the shutout.

• Carleton Place leads Nepean 3-1 in the other series, with Game 5 Friday at Carleton Place.

Kemptville is also at Hawkesbury on Friday for Game 5 in their series.