Detroit no longer undefeated
A dramatic shootout victory for the Armada means that the Detroit Falcons are now no longer undefeated after winning every one of their first eight games. The Falcons were seemingly unstoppable during this period, winning all but two of those games by more than one and putting up at least three goals in every single one of them. But it was Anchorage, who had come close to beating Detroit in a 4-3 loss earlier in the season, who would come out on top this day. They were able to slow down the high-powered Falcons offense to two goals (and completely shut them out in the first two periods) while a first-star performance from center Mitchell van der Heijden guided the Armada to victory.

How do the Falcons respond?
The two goals in the third period weren’t enough to bring it back, and Anchorage’s victory brought their winning streak to a screeching halt. So does this mean the Falcons are within reach of the rest of the league, or is this just a blip? We’ll have to see as the season goes on, but the Falcons have looked very comfortable in their three wins against Kelowna since the loss. Theoretically, an unprecedented season without losing in regulation is still possible. But it’s likely that Detroit’s early dominance will be slowed at least somewhat as the rookies across the league start to adjust and develop more and more. As things stand, the Falcons are still the comfortable favorites to win the Four Star Cup - and whether or not they’ll achieve that depends on how they respond to setbacks like this.