Fall Season - Week Eight - November 25

Ikhlas v Shukr:
Is this the week where Ikhlas finally gets win #1?  There is a strong chance because now highly-touted goaltender Zayd Agjee is a part of Ikhlas’ roster, replacing Rahil Ahmed who is done for the season after injuring himself trying to stop Yousuf Soliman of Ihsan on a breakaway.  That said, goaltending was never Ikhals’ problem, it is that they don’t really pose much of a threat offensively.  In their last game they only managed eight shots against Sabr, four in each half.  This week sees Ikhlas facing off against Shukr who were thoroughly embarrassed last week by Emaan, so expect Shukr to be looking for a nice bounce back effort against Ikhlas.  Despite all the talk coming into tonight’s match centered around Agjee, Shukr is having none of that and are looking to spoil his season debut.

Yaqeen v Ihsan:
The two top teams battle to take possession of first overall in the standings.  Yaqeen is coming off a bye week and previously had a set-back against Shukr two weeks back. They had two weeks to prepare for this contest knowing that the top spot would most likely be at stake.  Ihsan on the other hand seem to be on a downward trend. After their impressive victory over Emaan they tied last place Ikhlas and lost to Haya last week. In both of those games Hany Soliman did not tally a goal.  Although Ikhlas has found a way to get offensive contributions throughout the lineup they still need their best players to be their best players. In this weeks matchup of the two best teams Ihsan expects and needs Hany Soliman and Yousuf Soliman to come up with big games tonight.   

Emaan v Haya:
Both teams come in hot. Haya accomplished what no other team has yet been able to do a defeat Ihsan, whereas Emaan were dominant against Shukr. This is a tough matchup to preview as both teams have star power throughout their lineup. Most notable for Haya are players like Aazar Zafar, Hisham Ali, Mehmed Rizvanovic, Naeem Akhter, Nadeem Faqri and Huzaifa Manjra. Emaan also boasts an impressive lineup having the top leading point scorers in Waqar Khan & Zaid Toorawa, Umair Awan, and Furqan Salam. With so much fire power in this game we could see an offensive explosion or we might not as both teams have formidable tenders Haya’s Khalid Mufti and Emaan’s Ahmad Mobin. It will be interesting to see how this game plays out especially since Haya can overtake Emaan in the standings with a win.

Fall Season - Week Seven - November 18th

Week Seven Previews:

Haya vs Ihsan:

This is the first meeting between these two teams. Last week Haya came out victors over Sabr getting a huge performance by Hisham Ali (first star), two goals and one assist.  Because Haya has only played four games, a lot of people don’t talk too much about them.  They have been flying under the radar, but if they are able to get two points tonight they will grab 2^nd overall and be just a point away from the top spot with a game in hand.  For Ihsan they settled for a tie with Ikhlas in the dying seconds in Week Six.  Primarily known for their defense, Sajid Khan and Rayhan Malik are getting it done on both ends of the rink, notching goals in the past two weeks.  Ihsan hopes this offensive support continues as they are looking to keep the "donut" in the L column.

Sabr vs Ikhlas:

Playoffs? You’re talking playoffs? I just want to win a darn game! Well if there is a game to win it would be this one.  Through six weeks, Sabr and Ikhlas are win-less so a win by either one of these teams can go a long way in determining their playoff fate. Rumors are circulating that Yassir Hussain will be in net for Ikhlas tonight as an emergency call-up for the injured Rahil Ahmed.  To have such uncertainty in such as pivotal game that could very well determine their playoff fate must be generating anxiety in Ikhlas land.  In the other net, on some nights Sabr’s netminder Imran Merchant also has a lot of uncertainty surrounding him.  However, what is done is done and both teams just need to be in the moment and focus on this game.  If Merchant can put forth one of his better games tonight and if the Malik's are able to take advantage of a team that just lost their starting goaltender, then expect Ikhlas to remain winless going into Week Eight. 

Emaan vs Shukr:

Shukr comes into tonight’s matchup as the hottest team these two past weeks. They can thank their first overall pick Arif Bijabhai who scored six goals in that span, earning him Week Five First Star and Week Six Second Star.  After being shutout in back to back games, Shukr has recently picked up impressive victories over Haya and Yaqeen. Emaan is coming off a bye week where they had time to process their soul-crushing loss to Ihsan two weeks ago.  These two teams met back in Week One with Emaan walking away with a 2-1 win thanks to Zaid Toorawa.  Since then, Toorawa and Waqar Khan have become a dynamic duo, sitting at 1st and 2nd overall as the league leading scorers.  This time around Shukr is surging and are looking to continue their hot streak and send a message to Emaan to not read too much into the outcome back on Week One. From Emaan’s perspective they must be itching and glad to be back so they can let out their frustration since their loss to Ihsan.  

Fall Season - Week Six - November 11th

Week 6 Previews:

8pm - Ihsan vs Ikhlas:

These two teams first met back in Week One where Ihsan edge Ikhlas by a score of 2-1.  Since then both teams have moved in complete opposite directions. Ihsan now sits first place overall after their come from behind win against Emaan in the final minutes last week.  As for Ikhlas the still haven’t been able to register a point let alone a win.  Ikhlas did make a trade with Emaan, bringing in crafty forward Ali Murtaza in hopes of infusing some life to their team offense. Murtaza is having a rough season and for whatever reason did not fit in well with Emaan’s offensive scheme.  Hopefully the change in environment does him and ultimately his new team some good. The good news is, out of all the games Ikhlas has played so far they were most competitive against Ihsan.  This might be a trap game for Ihsan as there was a lot of hype going into last week’s encounter against Emaan and just the emotional roller-coaster they had coming away with the victory. There could be a letdown with Ihsan after that win and now trying to focus on playing the worse team in the league.  If Ikhlas can get a quick start they can surprise Ihsan and get them on their heels, ultimately securing their first win of the season. 

 

9pm - Haya vs Sabr:

Back in Week 3 these two teams settled for a 2-2 tie.  To provide some context it was Haya’s first game of the season where Sabr was playing their third. Now Haya has had a couple of games to develop team chemistry and should better prepared this time around. With that said they are coming from a crushing defeat at the hands of Shukr. So the Haya camp are probably more than eager to get back onto the floor and keep Sabr from getting their first win. Recently, Sabr has been making gradual improvements as was evident last week by drawing against a strong Yaqeen team 2-2. Although their situation seems more encouraging than Ikhlas at the moment, they are hoping to start seeing the results being reflected in the win column. The have been improving, especially their netminder Imran Merchant; a loss this week for Sabr will be demoralizing and a huge setback for them.

10pm - Shukr vs Yaqeen

These two teams meet back on Week 3 with Yaqeen emerging 3-0 victors. This time around the moment is all with Shukr, who from the will of Arif Bijabhai were triumphant over Haya. There were questions about the validation of him going first overall. But let’s keep it real, for now Haya is no Yaqeen. The expectation is always there for the first overall pick to show up against the top teams. Well, Friday is that night. It is put up or shut up time as a huge night from Arif will silence the critics. However if Shukr’s answer for their rematch against Yaqeen only relies on Arif then they could be in trouble again. 

Fall Season - Week Five - November 4th

8 PM: Shukr vs Haya

This game features two teams trending in opposite directions. Shukr has only one win in their campaign and been shutout in back to back games, first by Yaqeen and then last week by Ihsan.  The goals have suddenly disappeared after exploding for six against Sabr.  At that time it was asked if that game represented an anomaly, where Shukr took full advantage of the circumstances that week.   It seems fair to expect more from the top two picks in this year’s draft in Arif Bijabhai and Idrees Deen as neither are in the Top Five in scoring.  For Haya, they are undefeated so far coming off a phenomenal performance led by Mehmed Rizvanovic.  Rizvanovic with line mates Aazar Zafar and Huzaifa Manjra powered Haya to victory over still win-less Ikhlas.  Shukr is in for a long night if Hisham Ali and Naeem Akhter get going. Factor in that Khalid Mufti is in net for Haya and there is a real risk that Shukr could be shut out three games in a row.

9 PM: Ihsan vs Emaan      

The last time these two teams met,  Emaan had no answer for Ihsan’s Hany Solomon back in Week 2 where Ihsan came away with a 3-2 win.  On that night Ihsan did an exceptional job stifling the Emaan forwards who were held to only five shots the entire 2nd half.  Since that loss Emaan has responded with back to back wins where they outscored their opponents 10-3 with Waqar Khan tallying five goals in that span.  With his hot play, Khan has moved to the top of the scoring leader race while Hany Solomon has cooled off and no longer leads the league in goals.  However Ihsan is more than a one player team on offense as last week they got contributions from Amad Khan and Azim Siddique. Although we are not half way into the regular season the stakes are huge as a loss by Emaan puts a big dent in their hopes for a first place finish.

10 PM: Sabr vs Yaqeen

Although looking at their record, Sabr has shown positive signs of improvement as the season moves along.  They managed to get a tie against Haya and last week were leading Emaan at the end of the first half.  For Sabr they need to maintain their composure as this was their ultimate undoing last week by taking some unnecessary penalties.  Naiem Malik has a plethora of experience to continue to make improvements for his squad to get back on track.  The question for Sabr will continue to be their goaltender Imran Merchant; he has been playing better in comparison to his first few games but he is still a work in progress and needs more time to develop.  If he is able to put it all together and Sabr makes the playoffs then watch out for this team.  This week they face off against Yaqeen who are coming off a bye-week. This is a rematch from Week One which saw Yaqeen emerge as 5-1 victors. Yaqeen forwards in particular are probably anticipating this game as both Sajjid Ayubi and Arslan Mian are no longer the top two in scoring and are motivated to get back to the top of the board.  

Fall Season - Week Four - Oct 28th

Ikhlas vs Haya

Ikhlas continues to swim the murky waters of defeat for another week. Their recent loss comes from the hands of Emaan where the orange shirts beat them silly in a 5-1 drubbing. Ikhlas's struggles have been global. Offence is dismal, defence has got more holes than swiss cheese and goaltending has just struggled. GM Salman Khalid and his squad must step it up this week if they want to verified as serious contenders. Can Ikhlas conquer Haya? Or will Ikhlas add another loss to their already damaged record?

After a two week bye, Haya finally tested the waters in the league and allowed a two goal lead to slip away. Regardless, the grey shirts left the arena with a point in hand and now venture to put Ikhlas through more misery. Haya, a team filled with weathered players didn't fair that bad for their first game and can't face any criticism yet. GM Naeem Akhtar and company won't get a free ride but need to expose green's suspicious defence. Can Haya win their first game this week? 

Emaan vs Sabr

Emaan's regular season expedition has been up and down with many guessing their credibility. GM Furqan Salam's posse rebounded from an Ihsan loss some time back and recently won an explosive five goal beatdown over Ikhlas. This week's opposition is Sabr and keeping age in mind, it's probably fitting to dub this match as, "Battle of the Ages". A win for Emaan notches them in first place alongside Yaqeen. Can Emaan outwit the seasoned roster of Sabr?

Sabr's position on the standings has many bewildered. The yellow shirts started off with and 0-2 record and possibly had many round table discussions relating to their the squad's direction. However, if their previous "never say never" mentality remains consistent then maybe last week's tie game is a building block for a big win this Friday. With the odds heavily favouring against them, GM Naiem Malik has a lot of homework in solving the Emaan camp. Can Sabr match Emaan's hustle? Can Akib Malik lead the team to win #1?

Ihsan vs Shukr

Ihsan puts their unbeaten streak on the line as they face off against Shukr. The Soliman's and associates have been steam rolling the opposition and riding some high waves. Hany Soliman continues to dominate the white shirt's team stats while netminder Zaid Majoo proves that size is everything. The backend here plays a tight game but secondary scoring on this team is absent. How long can Hany Soliman go?  Can Ihsan put the pedal on the metal and drive their winning streak to three?

Shukr has been swaying weekly and recently suffered a nasty loss to Yaqeen. GM Haris Mallick's clan played an outstanding first period but found themselves swimming against the currents of the second period. After a 3-0 loss, Shukr needs a big win this week and anticipate Arssal Shahabuddin and Idrees Deen to get the job done. Goaltender Kaunain Sayied has given his team breathing room each week and also needs a big win to get the team going. Can GM Haris Mallick and his defensive corps halt Hany and company?

Fall Season - Week Three - October 21st

Week 3 Previews:

GAME 1- Haya vs Sabr:

Welcome to the show Haya! Haya eager to finally start their season sees them squaring off against a hungry Sabr team searching desperately for their first win. This is an interesting matchup where on one side you have a team that could be experiencing off-season rust and on the other side there is a team trying to develop some chemistry after being blown out in two straight games. For Sabr, they simply need more from their rookie goaltender, Imran Merchant. For sure he has the raw skills and potential but he needs to develop confidence in himself after a rough start to his I-slam career. However, this is not to absolve the rest of the Sabr team as it has become evident they need to be better in protecting their goaltender. Currently, they rank third overall in shots against, so they really haven’t made it easy for Imran to transition smoothly into the league. This defensive core of Sadat Malik, Luqman Arshad and Naiem Malik will be in tough as Haya has a dangerous offensive threat of Hisham Ali, Aazar Zafar, Huzaifa Manjra and Mehmed Rizanovic. What will be critical for Sabr is to try to catch Haya off guard early in the game and make the game as uncomfortable for a team playing their first game. If Haya’s netminder Khalid Mufti is able to keep the game close in the first half expect Haya to eventually run away with this game.

GAME 2- Emaan vs Ikhlas:

Each team is trying to bounce back from Week 2 defeats. For Ikhlas, similar to Sabr they find themselves down 0-2. Their situation is different, there seems to be no issue with their goaltender Rahil Ahmed as he has kept them in games while being peppered with shots. Unfortunately he can’t score goals. The forwards for Ikhlas haven’t produced much and their defense hasn’t protected their house. Early pre-season previews predicted this team will have difficulties scoring. However the two games they played were against early season favourites of Ihsan and Yaqeen. Perhaps things will change facing off against Emaan who also give up a lot of shots (2nd highest just after Ikhlas). For Emaan, they give up a lot of shots and are also having a hard time generating offense; last week they only had 5 shots on net in the 2nd half. At the moment only Emaan’s Zaid Toorawa and Umair Awan seems to be driving the team bus scoring in 2 straight games. This is quite surprising because out of all the teams Emaan seems to have the greatest depth upfront. With players like Ali Murtaza, Furqan Salam, Waqar Khan, Wakaaz Khan, Adeel Awan and Jibraan Salam, it was expected that this team would be an offensive juggernaut and for the scoring to be more distributed for Emaan. The key for Emaan will try to use their depth upfront and try to break down Ikhlas as the game progresses. Likewise, Ikhlas probably should have a similar game plan and take advantage of the fact that Emaan is among the leaders in shots against and try for once playing with a lead. Both teams need to come in with the mindset that, - “I missed 100 % of shots I didn’t take”.

GAME 3- Yaqeen vs Shukr
Yaqeen has been steam rolling the competition; they simply don’t make any mistakes. Out of all the teams we seen so far (Note- Haya hasn’t played), Yaqeen appears to be the most well-rounded. Yaqeen’s Arsal Mian, Sajid Ayubi are 1 & 2 in scoring, Humza Chaudhry leads the league in goals scored & Faraaz Alvi is top five in goals scored and Yusuf Kapoor is quietly putting together a solid season. Shukr also comes in hot or do they? They doubled up on Sabr 6 to 3 in Week 2. But is this game an outlier that just skewed and padded stats in their favour? What I will say is they did not look too good in the 2nd half when Sabr was able to claw their way back into their game and create a sense of anxiety on Shukr’s bench. To be fair to Shukr was this the case where they were so dominant in the first half and just let their foot off the gas to gave Sabr an opportunity to make a game out of it? We will get a better sense of this Shukr team after this game. However, considering how Yaqeen has played thus far, in my honest opinion, I just don’t see any scenario of Shukr winning this game. Not to say it can’t happen, unfair to Haya, but at the moment Yaqeen (along with Ihsan) seem to be separating themselves from the rest of the pack.

Fall Season - Week Two - October 14th

WEEK 2 PREVIEWS

Game 1 – Ihsan (1-0) vs Emaan (1-0)

Both teams are coming off 2-1 Week 1 victories. Majority of people have pegged Ihsan to win it all as it seems they have a well rounded team. What was remarkable about Ihsan’s performance in Week 1 was their team defense sucked the life out of Ikhlas holding them to only three shots in the first half and 12 overall. Except for one, the shots that were able to get through were steered as side from former ‘Best Goaltender of the Year’ Winner Zaid Majoo. On the other end, Hany Soliman carried Ihsan on his back and torched the 4th overall pick in this year’s draft twice, earning him the 1st Star of the Week. It is pretty impressive that Hany Soliman was able to solve Ikhlas’ defense and superstar goaltender considering that Ikhlas was built from the net out during the draft. If Ihsan can get 2 against that defense, they should in theory be able to victimize Emaan (who were not impressive in Week 1) for a couple more in Week 2. However, Emaan will counter with their former ‘Best Goaltender of the Year’ Winner Ahmad Mobin to keep Ihsan in check. As previously noted, although Emaan won their first game they did not look good. Against Shukr, they went an abysmal 0-5 on the PP, were out-shot 19-15 and even had an own goal. But why be negative, right? They found a way to win- It does not make sense but can’t argue against the final result. With that said, it is hard to envision them having continued success with that type of effort though.

Game 2- Yaqeen (1-0) vs Ikhlas (0-1)

Yaqeen simply out-classed Sabr in Week 1. Sajid Ayubi led the charge and put up 1 G and 2A. A lot of credit should go to Yaqeen’s high powered offense, showing no mercy to Sabr’s rookie goaltender Imran Merchant, but what got lost in their Week 1 victory is they only gave up 11 shots for the game! Yaqeen put up those numbers against a rook in his first game, but now they face Rahil Ahmed (Week 1 3rd Star) and an Ikhlas team that has a defense first mentality. As in the first week, expect Rahil to face a lot of (high-quality) shots and be relied on heavily. There is no doubt Salman Khalid & Yusuf Buttar of Ikhlas will do their part to support their net-minder, but a big question mark for Ikhlas is where is the goals going to come from?

Game 3- Shukr (0-1) vs (Sabr 0-1)

Life sometimes can be unfair- outshot, outworked, outhustle and took the game to Emaan in Week 1 but Shukr had a defensive lapse that cost them at least a point in the standings. A first impression of Shukr is that win, lose, or draw there a team that will make you work. Shukr needs to work on being more discipline as in the first week they had 5 minor penalties, two of them were from the leaders of this team (Arssal Shahabuddin & Idris Deen). Sabr on the other hand needs to forget about the beating they took in Week 1. For their sake, hopefully Akib Malik and Rizwan Malik take the floor this Friday. Perhaps goalie Imran Merchant was a bit nervous last week and now having some time to process things has settled down. Still is it the chicken or the egg or both? Before the ball gets to a goaltender it has to get through the defense. Both teams look to avoid an early 0-2 hole.