Observations.......

-Halifax came out of the gates with a physical start, by my count outhitting Colorado by a near 2 to 1 ratio. Physicality seems to be valued less in the modern game, but setting the tone can be important, so long as one of your key defensive forwards doesn't commit to an open-ice hit and leaves himself out of position. Luckily Halifax did not get burned by this, however.......
-........3 of the 4 Colorado goals came from turnovers off bad passes in the neutral zone. When you transition to the junior level you have to be able to move the puck and show better hands.
-Colorado brass have spoken highly of their 4th line as a future Top 6 unit, but it seems clear that Nick Brain isn't marching to the same tune as his linemates Knurtsson and Novak, who seem to play fairly well together. If the preseason and season opener struggles continue you've gotta wonder if the Raptors will move Brain around and see if they can get a winger from the Smeb line or converted defnese core to unleash the potential of Knurtsson and Novak, who combined for a goal in this game.
-The real key to Colorado hopes is Michael Scarn's ability to fit in with the Raptors forward core. Raptors have 5 rock-solid forwards and needed a 6th to round out the top 2 lines that get all the ice time, and Scarn's been thrown into the deep end as the second line Center to sink or swim. Based on the preseason and an ok performance in the opener, he seems to be swimming. So far.
-As for Halifax, they mustered a decent preseason but the team seems to be in worse shape than Colorado, with 4 core forwards and a top pairing, and the rest being rookie level. Theres also 3 magnets for controversy in Troy Reynolds, Jimmy Slothface, and Mike McKorsky. The rookies could bring the team beyond what they're capable of, but it probably won't happen for them this year.