If the Oakville Buzz can take anything away from their series loss to the Six Nations Rebels, it’s that they gave the two-time defending Founders Cup champions all they could handle before bowing out in five games.

The Rebels knocked the Buzz from the postseason Tuesday night following a 5-1 win at the Gaylord Powless Arena.

Rebels 6, Buzz 4
The Buzz shocked the partisan home crowd at Powless Arena last Friday evening by taking an early 2-0 lead.

Alex Kruse scored from Frank Collins and Connor Gamble, then teamed with Collins to set up Spencer Gallant’s marker at the 13:40 mark.

The host Rebels scored four in a row, one in the first and three in the second, to forge a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Jesse Sault, J Quinn Powless, Jesse Johnson and Wayne VanEvery all found the back of the net before Oakville’s Dylan Gilbert stopped the run with a marker from Mark White and Davide Diruscio.

Chadd Murphy re-established Six Nations’ two-goal advantage late in the third, scoring the game winner in the process.

With Diruscio on the bench in favour of an extra attacker, Gamble scored from Kruse and Mike Dawson with just 15 seconds left to pull within one.

The Rebels’ Danny Vyse scored with just one second to go to give the two-time defending Founders Cup champs a 2-1 lead in the best of five series.

Buzz 4, Rebels 2
It was do or die time for the Buzz on Sunday night at Glen Abbey as they faced elimination.
They responded with a hard-fought victory that forced a deciding fifth game two nights later.

Nations’ Kraig Maracale scored the only goal of the opening 20 minutes, putting the Buzz behind the eight ball early.
Gamble (from Dawson) and Dawson (from Gilbert) put Oakville in front with goals 34 seconds apart early in the second, but the lead would be short-lived.

With just under five minutes to go in the period, Murphy tied the score from Randy Martin.
The Buzz, determined to avoid being deadlocked heading into what could have been their final period of the season, took a 3-2 lead when Bryan Campbell struck from Nick Soubry.

Braden Gallant scored an insurance marker from Gamble and Kruse four minutes into the third to ice the win.

Rebels 5, Buzz 1
Things looked good for the Buzz early, as they opened the scoring just 87 seconds into the contest.
Spencer Gallant scored from White and Brad Galante to give the Buzz the quick lead.

The Rebels replied with five unanswered, scoring once in the first and second and three in the third to blow the game open.

Nations will now advance to play Welland in one Western Conference semifinal, while Elora will take on Owen Sound, who stunned top-ranked Windsor in the opening round.

In the East, Green Gaels will battle Mimico and Halton Hills tangles with Newmarket.