It may have been the first game of the 2011 playoffs, but the Giants and Americans are already tightening the tension rods in their first round match-up. Carter Ashton scored the game-winner with 2.2 seconds left in overtime, lifting the #4 Tri-City Americans (1-0-0, 2 pts) to a 2-1 win over the visiting #5 Vancouver Giants (0-0-1, 0 pts) in front of 3,406 fans at the Toyota Center. With the win, the Americans take the early 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which continues with Game 2 tomorrow night in Kennewick. Game time is 7:05 p.m. at the Toyota Center. In four regular season meetings, the two clubs did not play a game that was decided by less than three goals. So, it may have come as a surprise to some that the game was scoreless until the final minutes of the first period. While on their first power play opportunity of the game, David Musil let a shot go from the mid-point that would then get redirected by Brendan Rowinski, who was parked in front. Rowinski's tip went just under the glove of Drew Owsley, and the Giants had a one-goal lead headed into the first break. After the two teams combined for only 12 shots on goal in the first period, both squads put up 12 apiece in the second period. But, despite near-misses on both ends, the contest remained tied after 40 minutes of play. Finally, with 7:55 gone of the third period, a seemingly innocent play wound up tying the game. Jordan Messier worked the puck loose near the Vancouver bench, passing it up to David Conrad. Conrad then dumped the puck into the Giants' zone, only to have the puck glance of a stanchion between the glass, and land right by the skate of Vancouver netminder, Mark Segal. Segal, who was unable to locate the puck, watched as Conrad came crashing in, nudging the puck over the goal line for the first post-season goal of his career. For Tri-City, it came as part of an 11 to 2 shot advantage in the third period but, despite a couple of late flurries, the Americans could not take the lead while the game headed into overtime. Unlike the regular season, overtime periods in the playoffs are a full 20 minutes and the Americans used nearly all of it before eventually taking home the win. The teams exchanged scoring changes throughout the extra session, but it wasn't until a costly penalty late in the overtime put the Giants behind the 8-ball. Andrej Stastny was called for tripping with 50 seconds left in the period, setting the stage for the late-game heroics. Brendan Shinnimin's shot caromed into the far corner, where Ashton collected it and flung it on net. The puck then deflected off of Segal and into the net, setting off a dramatic celebration for the home team. It was an unfortunate end to an otherwise solid night for Segal, who finished with 44 saves on 46 shots in the loss. Meanwhile, Owsley allowed just the one goal on 26 total shots to earn the victory. Tri-City finished the game 1-for-4 on the power play, while Vancouver went 1-for-3 on the man-advantage. Of note, the overtime game was the 36th in the Americans' franchise playoff history, coming in as the ninth longest contest of the bunch. Tickets for Game 2 are available through all Ticketmaster outlets, including online at ticketmaster.com, the Toyota Center box office, or all Fred Meyer outlets. The game will also be broadcast live on NewsTalk 870 AM starting with the Sterling Savings Bank Warm-up Show at 6:45 p.m. Applebee's 3 Stars: 1, Carter Ashton, Tri-City 2, Mark Segal, Vancouver 3, Drew Owsley, Tri-City
