The Port Hope Predators have discovered their killer instinct.

The club dealt the final blow to the Lindsay Muskies and their playoff hopes on Feb. 20 by notching a 5-4 win in game four of the best-of-five quarter-final series.

The game was tied 2-2 after the first two periods, and Lindsay drew ahead before the 10-minute mark of the third, but the Preds responded with three goals (including one into the empty Muskies net) to ice the series, while the desperate Muskies scored once more in the final minute to draw within one.

Chad Dunlop and Tyler Miller each had a pair of points while Garrett Noiles had three. Dunlop leads all playoff scorers with a whopping 14 points in just four games, with linemate Miller on his heels with 12.

“They gave us a good run. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The first round is always the toughest one,” said Coach Brian Drumm. “We did some really good things away from the puck against Lindsay, and I like how disciplined we played.”

The win finished the series 3-1 in Port Hope’s favour and punched their ticket to the East Division semi-finals, where they will meet the second place Kingston Voyageurs. The Voyageurs (like the first place Wellington Dukes, who will meet the Bowmanville Eagles) earned a first round bye and will be well rested when the clubs hit the ice in Kingston for game one on Saturday, Feb. 23, at 1:30 p.m. The clubs were almost even in the season series. Kingston had a 4-3 edge during the regular season head-to-head series, while both teams notched 28 goals.

Drumm expects a tough series, but if Kingston’s defence tries to shut down the dominant line of Miller/Dunlop/Jeremy McCarty, Port Hope will be ready.

“We’ve got lots of guys to answer with,” said the coach. “We’ve gotten some really timely scoring from the Andrew Taylor/Jesse Chidwick/Garrett Noiles line.”

General Manager Tim Clayden also anticipates a hard fought semi-final. “Kingston (is) well coached and well managed,” said Clayden. “Their coaching staff brings passion and energy to their program. This will be a very tough and physical series.”