LANGLEY, British Columbia (Interstat) — Ryan Lin scored twice, including the opening goal just over two minutes into the game, and Mathis Preston netted the overtime winner as the Vancouver Giants rallied to defeat the Tri-City Americans 4-3 in Western Hockey League action Friday night at Langley Events Centre.

A crowd of 3,504 saw the Giants snap a two-game losing streak and improve their record to 17-24. The Americans fell to 20-18 with their third consecutive loss.

The most critical sequence of the game occurred in the opening five minutes, as Vancouver established an early dominance that Tri-City spent the rest of the night trying to overcome. Lin, a defenseman from Richmond, British Columbia, ignited the Giants early, firing a shot past the Tri-City goaltender at the 2:32 mark of the first period, assisted by Torretto Marrelli. The game then descended into a series of coincidental penalties, but Vancouver capitalized on the unsettled play. Just 51 seconds after a Vancouver power play began, Lin struck again at 5:23, taking a feed from Preston and netting his 11th goal of the season to give the Giants a swift 2-0 lead.

Tri-City settled in during the second period. Savin Virk of Surrey, British Columbia, cut the deficit to 2-1 with his 19th goal at 8:29, assisted by Cruz Pavao. The Americans’ momentum was short-lived, however, as Vancouver’s Lance McCloskey of Newport Beach, California, restored the two-goal lead just 44 seconds later, converting a setup from Jan Skok to make it 3-1.

The third period was defined by special teams and a furious Tri-City comeback. Just 59 seconds into the frame, Tri-City’s Charlie Elick was assessed a major penalty for checking to the head. Despite being shorthanded for five minutes, the Americans managed to score. Jakub Vanecek of Humpolec, Czechia, found the net at 1:39 for a shorthanded goal, assisted by Dylan LeBret, pulling Tri-City within one.

The Americans completed their comeback midway through the period. Carter Kingerski of Headingley, Manitoba, scored his second of the season at 12:38, with an assist from Aden Bouchard, to tie the game 3-3 and force overtime.

The extra period lasted only 26 seconds. Mathis Preston of Penticton, British Columbia, ended it, taking a pass from Misha Volotovskii and beating the Tri-City netminder for his 15th goal of the season, sealing the 4-3 victory for the Giants.

Lin finished with two goals and an assist for a three-point night, adding five shots on goal and two penalty minutes. Preston had a goal and an assist, leading all players with six shots on goal. For Tri-City, Virk, Vanecek and Kingerski provided the goal scoring.

The game was a penalty-filled affair, with both teams combining for 35 minutes in infractions. Tri-City’s Elick was ejected for his major penalty in the third.

The result continued a recent trend in the season series, with all three meetings this season now decided by a single goal and two requiring overtime. Tri-City had won the previous two matchups.

Vancouver next hosts the Wenatchee Wild on Saturday. Tri-City continues its road trip against the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday.

The final score matched the projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 4-3 Vancouver victory. However, the firm’s ELO rating system had given Tri-City a 53 percent probability to win.