Colorado entertains in SMJHL pre-season

Intro
Well regarded as the most important time of the entire season, Colorado showed up to pre-season with a bag full of fireworks. Sometimes they exploded high in the sky with an awe-inspiring glow of promise, sometimes they blew up at ground level and caused a wildfire of destruction – either way, the Raptors were the best team to view for all the right (and wrong) reasons. What more can one say about a team that simultaneously averaged the most goals for in pre-season, as well as the most goals allowed. Fans of scoring hockey were more than delighted by the showings the Denver based team put on, with the constant sounds of goal-horns following in their wake.

The Highs
With a returning starting line of Jussi Mutou, Shadow Fenix, and Xavier Beausoleil, Colorado was already well equipped to savagely dominate their prey as a true apex predator. Through pre-season, the team averaged a frightening 5 goals per game, and their starting trio led the pace with a combined 34 points. The number 3 overall pick in this years SMJHL Draft, Pinli Switchbang, also showed an encouraging start with 5 goals and a pair of assists to go along with it. The extra boost to attack from the draft was well on display in Colorado’s 7-3 win over Regina, where Switchbang along with La Sombra and Dalek contributed 4 goals to the cause. This outright attacking focus is as dangerous as it is entertaining, as Colorado handed Kelowna their only regulation loss of the entire pre-season by savagely putting 6 passed them. Needless to say, the fangs of the Raptors attack look primed and ready to shred their victims for the upcoming campaign.

The Lows
For the first five games of pre-season, the defensive unit for Colorado put on some respectable to strong showings. It was only in the last two contests that the Denver crew decided to set their eyes on a pair of key objectives; giving teams a false sense of security for the upcoming season, and making a historic comeback to steal away the highest GA title. Indeed, teams like Yukon and Vancouver were left stunned when the Raptors let slip in 18 goals in their final 2 games to smash and grab the most goals allowed title from under their noses. During this time, the defensemen did their part in keeping the Colorado attack unmatched, as Oranj Konhe and Valerija Serapin both broke the top 5 in assists from the backline. Trent Wiseman also led defenseman in hits, giving the Raptors yet another way to inflict fear on their opponents for the upcoming season.

Final Thoughts
Without a doubt Colorado is a dangerous team, they can easily lure you into an all-out attacking contest and rip you to shreds in the blink of an eye. While their “poor” defensive numbers might bait one or two teams into taking this challenge, high-octane games with endless shots are exactly where they thrive. Should a team like this manage to protect their nest a bit better, they could pose a real threat into the post-season, and even as they are now, could beat any team on any given day. Fans of attacking hockey and goals in general should keep their eyes on the Raptors each week as they mercilessly assault their opponents, or victims.


(554 Words)