Comment 1) What the Raptors Did Well

The Raptors got off to a strong start thanks to Urawa burying a feed from Henrik Lekberg Osterman to start the game. That spark did not lead to the result they would have liked, but despite being outplayed for much of the 1st period, The raptors found ways to hang on and even take back the lead towards the end of the period. It might not have looked pretty, but the team demonstrated that they have the ability to fight off an opponents surge and still end up on top. After another bad period in the 2nd, the Raptors really showed a lot of fight in the 3rd period, controlling possession and out-shooting Anchorage 10-2 in the period. they were not able to get the equalizer, but that flash of potential may signal future success down the line for the Raptors.

Comment 2) What went wrong for the Raptors

A lack of ability to hold possession in the first 2 periods ultimately doomed the raptors. Samat Beibitzhanov was able to hold off the consistent pressure from the armada in the 1st period, stopping 15 of 16 shots, but eventually crumbled under continued pressure in the 2nd period. A Huge factor in this imbalance of possession was the penalties. Colorado took a total of 6 penalties in this game. While they successfully managed to kill 5 out of 6, keeping the game in striking distance, the incessant parade of raptors to the penalty box really killed the teams ability to build momentum and break down the anchorage defense. You aren't going to find many teams pulling out wins after giving their opponent 6 power plays, and that is something that needs to be addressed by the coaching staff in the near future.

Comment 3) Anchorage gets 5 out of 6 points against raptors in early season series

The Raptors and Armada faced off in a 3 game series to start the season. By this game the level of familiarity between the teams was extremely high, and anchorage put the shootout loss to Colorado in game 2 behind them and showed out in a big way tonight. Despite the 1 goal difference at the end, you would not be remiss to say that this game for large stretches looked an awful lot like the 3-0 shutout the Armada inflicted upon the Raptors in the season opener. I'm sure the Armada would have liked to capitalize more often on the Power play, going 1 for 6 on the night, but the goal they did score tied the game and seemed to really set the tone early in the second period that they were going to get looks, and they would eventually put them in the net. An overall strong start to the season by the defending champions.