Spring Season - Week Ten - April 28th

Playoffs: Round One

8:00pm: Ihsan vs Haya - Wildcard Game

After their stunning lost against Yaqeen last week, Ihsan must do things the hard way in their defense of their championship as they face Haya in the wildcard game.  During the regular season the teams split the season series with each team winning one game.  Ihsan won the first game 3-1 and Haya won the second game 5-1.  From all the teams that qualified for the playoffs these two teams have the lowest offensive production, each only scoring 18 goals.  Yousuf Soliman leads the charge for Ihsan with 5 goals and 5 assists.  The duo of Aazar Zafar and Mehmed Rizvanovic are the bus-drivers for Haya with 6 points each.  Also among the playoff teams these two squads were the worst in keeping the ball out of their net.  Ihsan gave up 26 goals and Haya right behind them with 28 goals. It is hard to predict how this game will go as both teams have been inconsistent throughout the season.  That said, both squads have strong goalies and players who can take over the game - the question is will anyone step up and do that tonight?

An hour after the conclusion of this game, the winner will enter the rink with the league’s top team during the regular season, Emaan.     

9:00pm: Sabr vs Taqwa - Semi-Finals

One of these teams will be heading to the 2017 Spring Finals.  These teams split the season series one game each.  In the first meeting Taqwa won 3-1.  However, the week after, Sabr outclassed Taqwa 6-1.  No one expected either of these teams to be here.  Sabr has made great strides from the Fall.  They have five players that finished in the top ten in scoring: Luqman Arshad (9 points), Saleem Malik (9 points), Ali Malik (10 points), Akib Malik (12 points) and the league’s top goal scorer, Dawood Ciombar (10 goals).  Taqwa are the new kids on the block and at the start of the season were perceived to be one of the weaker teams.  Their main offense weapons are Farooq Sani (7 points), Abu Patel (7 points), Yasser Habib (9 points) and of course the other league’s top goal scorer Adil Patel (17 points).  On paper Sabr has the edge in offense, defense and in goaltending, and come into this match-up as heavy favorites.  However, in a one game elimination things might come down to the head to head match-up of the league’s best goal scorers, Ciombar vs Patel.   

              

10:00pm: Haya/Ihsan vs Emaan - Semi-Finals

Emaan awaits the winner of the 8pm wildcard game.  Emaan (aka TMT) won both games against Haya whereas they haven’t been able to beat Ihsan in the past two seasons.  So it’s obvious who they would rather face.  There is a lot of interesting story lines for both potential opponents.  If they end up facing Haya, Asad Darr has another opportunity to re-kindle some magic from 2014 and slay TMT once more.  Let’s not forget Atif Mian’s motivation of not being redrafted back onto Emaan as he’d be more than happy to send TMT fishing back in Cambridge.  If Emaan ends up facing Ihsan, well I guess to be the man you got to beat the man.  If this scenario does play out then the question becomes can TMT man up against their rivals?

Spring Season - Week Nine - April 21st

8:00pm: Emaan vs Sabr

In most instances the main event happens at the very end of the night after all the undercard fights - but not tonight!  We get right into it with the two heavyweights all season long squaring up against each other.  Boxing out of the left corner is Sabr, a team that most overlooked given their dismal results in the fall season.  The evolution from the Malik Clan (Sabr) has been amazing to witness.  With the emergence of Dawood Ciombar leading the league in goals, along with Akib Malik and Luqman Arshad facilitating the offense, as well as getting contributions from Saleem Malik, Ali Malik and Rizwan Malik has help to make this team the most lethal on the offensive end.  At the same time, Sabr who opposing forwards feasted on in the fall has also been the best team all season long in defending their house, only conceding 11 goals so far.  Tonight, with first place on the line, they get an opportunity to show the rest of the league where Sabr belongs.  Malik means King…Kings sit on thrones above everyone else…So does Sabr claim the throne tonight?

Their opponents, boxing out of the right corner is Emaan, also known as TMT.  TMT is often a sure bet to be the highest scoring team every season with box-office names such as, Arif Bijabhai, Umair Awan, Furqan Salam and finally current points leader Waqar Khan.  However as mentioned above, Sabr ranks number one in that category.  It seems though this version of TMT has found a balance between putting the ball into the net and keeping the ball out of their net.  They have only surrendered 12 goals (again ranked behind Sabr).  A lot of credit here has to go to Salman Khalid, Zuhair Fancy and Firasath Ali who were forced into playing a greater role with the season ending injury to Adeel Awan.  Lost in all of this is the performance of Yusuf Kapoor, who often feels slighted on how people perceive his abilities.  Like Amir Khan searching for a big money fight, tonight is an opportunity for Kapoor to respond to his critics.  Despite all of these big names, go figure it was Rookie, Ibrahim Khan that scored the game winner in the first meeting between these two teams. Now, with greater stakes the stage is set for anyone willing to seize the moment.

9:00pm: Yaqeen vs Ihsan

This season was a nightmare for Yaqeen as they could never get anything going.  After losing to Haya last week they find themselves eliminated from the playoffs, this game for Yaqeen is about pride… no one wants to have the record for the least number of wins in a season - in this case they are still looking for win number one.  They are up against the defending champions who come in needing a big night to avoid playing the wildcard game next week against Haya.  It is expected that Ihsan should have the Soliman brothers and their starting goaltender, Zaid Majoo available tonight.  This is the first of two games Ihsan will be playing.  On paper, this seems like an easy two points Ihsan can bank.  However, keep in mind Yaqeen has nothing to lose and in fact they have a chance to exact some revenge on the team that beat them in last season’s finals.

10:00pm: Haya vs Taqwa

After securing the final playoff spot against Yaqeen last week, Haya can rest easy tonight.  Yet, this game might be a preview of their wildcard opponents.  So it might be more beneficial for them to try to study and dissect Taqwa’s style of play.  Also Haya can use this game to help integrate recent waiver pickup Asaad Darr into their offense.  He did score a clutch goal that got them to the playoffs, so having him become more familiar with his line-mates is a great return on investment with playoffs happening next week.  From Taqwa’s perspective they are trying to lock up 3rd overall and in the process avoid having to play the wildcard game.  At the same time Adil Patel has two games (his team plays a double header) to take over Dawood Ciombar as the league’s top goal scorer.

11:00pm: Ihsan vs Taqwa

For both teams this will be their second game of the night and most likely this game will determine who will have to play in the wildcard game next week against Haya.  In their first meeting, Ihsan won by a 5-2 final score.  In that game, Ihsan was dominant and the outcome was never in doubt. Yousuf Sowdagar and Yousuf Soliman did the most damage that night.  Perhaps if Taqwa has more people show up (they were short benched in their first meeting) then expect to see more of a contest.  As well, remember Adil Patel has the extra motivation to see if he can capture the goal scorer award.

Spring Season - Week Eight - April 14th

8:00pm: Ihsan vs Sabr
The last time these teams met Sabr rolled to a 6-0 win so Ihsan will be hoping for better results this time.  That said they already face an uphill climb as they will reportedly be without goalie Zaid Majoo along with the Soliman brothers.  A short bench is never the way to start a game against the top team in the league.  Sabr comes in confident having won their last four games by a 15-5 combined margin.  They have the best offense and the best defense in the league and are in a battle for first place with Emaan so will come in pumped up for this game.

9:00pm: Emaan vs Haya
The first meeting between these teams saw Emaan grind out a 2-1 win.  Both teams have this as a must win game but for very different reasons, Emaan needs a win to make sure they stay ahead of Sabr who is hot on their heels for first place.  Haya needs this win just to hold onto the final playoff spot.  Atif Mian will be pumped up to play against his friends on Emaan and will be joined by Assad Darr who is making his season debut.  Emaan has seen their top line go a bit cold of late so sustained pressure from them will be needed for their team to do well.

10:00pm: Yaqeen vs Taqwa
When these teams matched up earlier in the season it was a 2-0 win for Taqwa.  Taqwa comes into this game in fourth place so a win gives them a chance to jump into third if Ihsan loses to Sabr.  For Yaqeen they are desperate for their first win of the season and hope that they can jump past Haya for the final playoff spot.  Osman Buttar will be making his debut and will be counted on to spark the leagues worst offense to a win.

11:00pm: Yaqeen vs Haya
A playoff game before the playoffs - always a treat to watch.  Both teams will have played earlier in the night and this is a do or die game for Yaqeen who really must win this game to have any hope of grabbing the final playoff spot.  The first meeting between the teams was a 2-2 tie and you never know what players will no show when Haya is involved so anything is possible here.

Spring Season - Week Seven - April 7th

8:00pm: Yaqeen vs Sabr
Time is running out for Yaqeen.  This season has been a disaster for last year’s finalists.   Win-less in six games and only managing to get one point, Yaqeen has under-performed.  Perhaps, they have never recovered from losing in the Fall Finals and has carried over into this season.  They have scored a league low five goals and given up a league high 21 goals.  Yaqeen needs to figure out things in a hurry, else they will be putting away their hockey equipment early this season.  Yaqeen is up against Sabr who has their eye set on the number one seed.  A few weeks back Sabr got a decisive 4-0 win against Yaqeen.  Mohammed Hamoud (Yaqeen) wasn’t in the lineup for that meeting.  If this season’s first overall pick takes the floor Sabr will have a tougher time this go around.  Will Yaqeen put it all together in time to save their season?

9:00pm: Haya vs Ihsan
Don’t look now but Ihsan is quietly moving up in the standings after a slow start.  Perhaps it was the championship hangover from last season, but two points here can potentially move them all the way up to first (with Emaan and Sabr both losing this Friday).  Looks like Drake (Yousuf Soliman) started from the bottom and now they’re here.  Their opponents are Haya, a team they defeated 3-1 earlier in the year.   Like Yaqeen, Haya’s season isn’t going smooth.  They are barely clinging onto the last playoff spot.  Also like Yaqeen, Haya has scored a league low of five goals.  However, their goaltender, Khalid Mufti has been solid all year, only surrendering nine goals so far (the second lowest).  If Haya can get their goalie some support and defeat Ihsan combined with a Yaqeen loss (at 8 pm) it could very well be game, set and match for the last playoff spot; Haya would have a 3-point spread between them and Yaqeen with a game in hand.  Is this scenario realistic?  The expectation here is for Haya to get their first win against the defending champs!

10:00pm: Taqwa vs Emaan
Emaan lost their captain Adeel Awan to a devastating injury last week and wasted no time getting a replacement in before the deadline. His brother, Umair Awan will take his spot. Umair is more offensive minded compared to his brother who patrols the blue-line. This addition adds another weapon to a lethal offense which already boasts the league leader Waqar Khan and right behind him Furqan Salam.  One must wonder if it was a smart move to load upfront and neglect their glaring weakness, defense.  TMT (Emaan’s adopted nickname) has relied on their goaltender, Yusuf Kapoor, a league high 136 times this season.  I guess TMT’s logic here is live by the sword and die by the sword; Emaan feels they will score their way out of any problem.  Well a good test will be this week against Taqwa. The last time these two teams met, a short-benched Taqwa stunned Emaan by a score of 2-0.  Will Emaan’s new addition help reverse their fortunes this time around?

11:00pm: Taqwa vs Haya
Both teams will be playing their second game of the night.  For Taqwa they are already veterans in this and know what to expect.   The last time Taqwa played their double header, they were blown out in their first game by a score of 6-1 (vs. Sabr) but showed great resiliency the very next game to defeat Yaqeen 2-0.   Taqwa has MVP-candidate, Adil Patel who has managed to score a goal in all his team’s games.  His booming shot can change the complexion of a game in mere seconds.  He will be teeing up against Khalid Mufti (Haya), who is as well having a stellar campaign despite his team’s record.  Haya will get some rest between their games.  An advantage they are more than welcome to embrace as they try to put Yaqeen further in their rear-view mirror.