Preds up 2-1 on Muskies
Wed Feb 20, 2008

By: By Jason Chamberlain

The Port Hope Predators have the Lindsay Muskies on the brink of elimination after taking a 2-1 series lead in their best-of-five East Division quarter-final series, over the weekend.

The Preds started their playoff run with a bang on Friday, with a 7-2 win. Though the Muskies carried the play in the first period (and entered the second with a 2-1 lead) the Preds charged out of the gate in the second frame with three quick goals to take the lead and never looked back. Leading the way were Chad Dunlop and Tyler Miller, who took turns filling the Lindsay net on the way to the victory.

“I got a lot of help from my linemates,” said Dunlop, who had five points in the first game. “We wanted to blow them out of the water and let them know we’re here for real.”

The teams met for game two on Sunday, in Minden, due to a municipal workers strike in Lindsay. The Muskies struck back with a 4-3 win to even the series at a game apiece. The Preds fired 53 shots at Lindsay goaltender Richard Nerland but had trouble solving him, while the Muskies answered with 40 shots on both Billy Stone and Spencer Finney.

Dunlop and Miller kept their hot streaks alive, each potting a goal, while Brooks Mejia added the third marker late in the third period with the Port Hope net empty to pull the score within one.

With the series tied, the teams returned to Port Hope on Sunday,for game three, where the Preds doubled up the Muskies 6-3.

Dunlop and Miller continued to blow holes through the Lindsay defence, notching four and three points respectively. Jeremy McCarty also got on the board with three assists, while Jessie Chidwick overcame a scoring slump by notching two goals in the third period to put the game in the bag for the home side.

“I got a gorilla off my back,” said Chidwick, after the game. “We’d been getting a lot of opportunities. Just holding the stick too tight, couldn’t get it in the back of the net.”

The line of Chidwick, Andrew Taylor and Garrett Noiles has come alive at just the right time for the Preds, giving the team another bonafide scoring threat alongside the Dunlop/Miller/McCarty line. The series continued to be a physical one in game three, with both sides not giving an inch.

During the third period, the game was delayed for 15 minutes when two Predators crushed a Muskie into the rink door, knocking it off its hinges. Jack Burger arena staff used planks of wood to brace the door so the teams could finish the game safely.

The Predators can advance to the East Division semi-finals with a win in Minden on Wednesday night. To do so, they’ll need to muster a full team effort against a Muskies team that will be fighting for their lives.

“We’re going to see their most desperate game,” said Port Hope Coach Brian Drumm. “We’ve got to play with a killer instinct and finish them off.”