Bold prediction: This is the year that a non-Great Lakes team wins the Challenge Cup. While the GL has been terrorizing the SHL during the FHM era, claiming the vast majority of the Challenge Cups up for grabs, this will be the first time in seasons that a team not in that division will win. This looks to be a year that Texas can pull off the win, although they will likely have to battle through at least 1 Great Lakes team to earn it. Texas currently has the best forward group in the league, the best 1-2 goaltending punch, and a top flight defense from the top pairing to the bottom. While The Great Lakes will remain a battlefield, as is tradition, and one team from the division will still miss the playoffs in an assuredly undeserving manner, three very strong teams from the Northeast will make the playoffs, and any of them could be a tough final opponent for a potentially victorious Texas team.