Friday 21 December 2018

Fall Season - Week Fifteen - December 21st - Finals!

8:00 PM- Free Pickup! This session is open to anyone, so come out and bring your friends as well!  A great opportunity for new players to the league to showcase their talents leading into the draft.


9:00 PM - Yaqeen vs Haya Game Two of Two in the Finals

Context: Haya must defeat Yaqeen in Game Two of this series in order to force a 5-minute sudden death overtime. If neither team scores in the overtime there will be a shootout, 3 shooters aside. If after the three shooters the penalty scores are still tied then we will go to sudden death shooters until a winner is crowned. Alternatively, as winners of Game 1 of this series, Yaqeen can take the I-slam Cup home with either a win or a tie in this game.


Haya’s Perspective:
Last week, Haya did not look like a team that belonged in The Finals. Right from the start, they were not prepared to go to war as they were assessed a two-minute penalty for failing to submit a recap. This ended up being a costly mistake as Yaqeen capitalized on the power play. This mistake ultimately costed them the game and perhaps even the I-Slam Cup. From the start Haya would never recover, suffering their first loss of the season. The fact that Haya lost for the first time is not as concerning as how mentally fragile they looked last week. From complaining about the referees to taking needless penalties, they did not respond well to the first test of adversity they encountered all year.

The first task the Haya leadership group has to do is to get their team to forget about last week. Easier said than done as the main question is if Haya is already mentally defeated stemming from their poor showing last week. Personally and I may be in the minority here, I think their undefeated streak ending is a good thing as now that pressure is no longer weighing them down. Now their focus can solely be on winning the I-Slam Cup. In terms of strategy everything starts and ends with Maaz Haq. The entire Haya team has to make the rink feel small for Haq whenever he has the ball. This means whenever he has the ball whether it be in the offensive, neutral or defensive zone there has to be 1,2, or even 3 grey jerseys pressuring him. The whole idea is to limit the time he has the ball and see if anyone else on Yaqeen can generate the offense.

Yaqeen’s Perspective:
Yaqeen steamrolled Haya last week. Credit to the leaders of Yaqeen for having their crew ready to play right from the opening draw. They drew up a nice tic-tac-toe powerplay goal and never looked back. Yaqeen made things look easy seven days ago and kept their calm and composure especially when Haya tried to engage them in chippy play. My only criticism from their Game 1 victory was perhaps they could have eased up a little nearing the closing minutes of the game as oppose to trying to score a fifth goal. What this might have done is poke a seemingly dead bear and given Haya a little fire in their belly heading into tonight’s action. All in all in was a perfect game for Yaqeen that has positioned them well heading into the finals leg of this series.

My main concern for Yaqeen is how relatively easy their season has been so far. With exception to a loss against Taqwa, Yaqeen has not been under mush pressure-ridden situations. This could play a factor tonight. Consider this, Haya had a week to gather and mentally collect themselves since last Friday. However, if Yaqeen were to fall behind in Game 2 they would have to figure out a way to compose themselves in the heat of the moment. This is not something that is easy to do especially when things have been smooth sailing for such a long period of time. Therefore in my opinion getting the first goal is crucial. In terms of strategy they would want to focus on Waqar Khan and Umair Awan. Shutting these two down long enough for one of their big three (Maaz Haq, Arif Bijabhai and Suleman Bhatti) to find the back of the Haya net will get team Yaqeen’s name on the I-slam Cup.

Prediction:
Most likely outcome: Yaqeen will win the championship at the end of Game Two
If Haya were to win the championship they will do so in the overtime session
If it goes to a shootout Yaqeen will take home the championship


10:00 PM - Awards Ceremony: All finalists and award winners are invited out to celebrate their standout performances of the season.

Friday 14 December 2018

Fall Season - Week Fourteen - December 14th - Finals!

9:00 PM- Haya (7-0-5) vs Yaqeen (9-1-2)

Haya
Yaqeen
Regular Season Rank
2
1
Regular Season GF
25
35
Regular Season GA
13
18
Goal Scorers (Reg. Season + Playoffs)
Yasin Admani- 8
Waqar Khan- 5
Salman Khalid-3
Erfan Bhanapatel-2
Adeel Awan-3
Sufyaan Shaikh-3
Umair Awan-4
Saqib Khokhar-1
Salman Alvi-1
Sadat Malik-1
Mohamed Ahmed Quraishi-1
Maaz Haq-6
Suleman Bhatti-9
Arif Bijabhai-5
Farooq Sani-5
Arssal Shahabuddin-3
Amir Multani-8
Faisal Mehboob-1
Saleem Malik-4
Talib Contractor-1
Ahsan Wasif-2
Taha Azhar-1
Shutouts
1 (Oct 19th vs Emaan)
1 (Sept 28 vs Emaan)
Season Series
Tie (1-1 draw)
Tie (1-1 draw)
Score
1
1
Goal Scorers
Yasin Admani
Suleman Bhatti
Who got the First Goal in the First Game?
Haya (first half)
N/A
PIM of First Game
0
2
Absences in First Game
Ali Malik
Mohamed Ahmed Quraishi
Hamza Amin
Waqs Bajwa
Imdad Ali
I-slam Media Personnel Prediction #1

Yaqeen Win (1st Star- A.Bijabhai)
I-slam Media Personnel Prediction #2
Haya Win (1st Star- U.Awan)

I-slam Media Personnel Prediction #3
Haya Win (1st Star- U.Awan)

I-slam Media Personnel Prediction #4

Yaqeen Win (1st Star- F.Mohammad)
I-slam Media Personnel Prediction #5

Yaqeen Win (1st Star- Maaz Haq)
I-slam Media Personnel Prediction #6

Yaqeen Win (not sure who the first star will be)
I-slam Media Personnel Prediction #7
Haya Win (1st Star: Waqar Khan)

I-slam Media Personnel Prediction #8

Yaqeen Win (1st Star- Amir Multani) 


Friday 7 December 2018

Fall Season - Week Thirteen - December 7th - Playoffs!

9:00 PM- Haya (7-0-4) vs Shukr (4-5-3)

Haya
Shukr
Score of First Game  (Nov 9, 2018)
1
1
Goal Scorers of First Game
Umair Awan (1)
Saqib Sheikh (1)
Goal Type of First Game
1 EV
1 EV
PIM of First Game
2
Who got the First Goal in the First Game?
Haya (first half)
N/A
Score of Second Game (Playoff Game 1)
4
1
Goal Scorers of Second Game
Yasmin Admani (2)
Umair Awan (1)
Salman Khalid (1)
Humza Chaudhry (1)
Goal Type of Second Game
1 EV
1PP
1 SH
1 EN
1 PP
PIM of Second Game
8
4
Who got the First Goal in the First Game?
Haya (first half)

HAMIDI’S APPRENTICE PREDICTION

Shukr Win
Task at hand
A draw or a win will punch their ticket to the finals
Must win game 2. In both meetings they have conceded the first goal. They better reverse this trend if they want to go to the finals


10:00 PM- Yaqeen (8-1-2) vs Sabr (4-5-3)

Yaqeen
Sabr
Score of First Game  (Nov 16, 2018)
4
2
Goal Scorers of First Game
Arssal Shahabuddin (1)
Maaz Haq (1)
Talib Contractor (1)
Suleman Bhatti (1)

Shaukat Khan (1)
Abdu Sharkawy (1)
Goal Type of First Game
4 EV
2 EV
PIM of First Game
0
0
Who got the First Goal in the First Game?
N/A
Sabr (first half)
Score of Second Game (Playoff Game 1)
5
0
Goal Scorers of Second Game
Arif Bijabhai (2)
Amir Multani (1)
Maaz Haq (1)
Suleman Bhatti (1)
N/A
Goal Type of Second Game
4 EV
1 PP
N/A
PIM of Second Game
4
2
Who got the First Goal in the First Game?
Yaqeen (second half)
N/A
HAMIDI’S APPRENTICE PREDICTION

Sabr Win
Task at hand
A draw or a win will punch their ticket to the finals
Must win game 2. Yaqeen has scored all of their goals against Sabr in the second half. The main question is can Sabr prevent another 2nd half collapse? 


Friday 30 November 2018

Fall Season - Week Twelve - November 30th - Playoffs!


8:00 PM - Taqwa (4-3-3) vs Shukr (3-4-3)


Taqwa
Shukr
Regular Season Finish
3
6
Season Series 
Tied: 1 W & 1 L 
Tied: 1 W & 1 L
Score of First Game 
3
1
Goal Scorers of First Game
Huzaifa Panchbhaya (1)
Humza Ali (1)
Saqib Khokhar (1) 
Yousuf Chata (1)
Goal Type of First Game
2 EV
 1 EN
1 EV
PIM of First Game
8
0
Score of Second Game
1
2
Goal Scorers of Second Game
Humza Ali (1)
Sufyan Kazi (1)
Yousuf Chata (1)
Goal Type of Second Game
1 PP
1 PP
1 EV
PIM of Second Game
4
2
HAMIDI PREDICTION 
TAQWA WIN

HAMIDI’S APPRENTICE PREDICTION
TAQWA WIN

Matchup with Haya:
Lost: 4-1
Tied: 1-1

9:00 PM - Ihsan (3-3-4) vs Sabr (3-4-3)

Ihsan
Sabr
Regular Season Finish
4
5
Season Series 
Won: 1 Win  
Lost: 1 Loss 
Score of First Game 
7
3
Goal Scorers of First Game
Omar Sadat (1)
Akib Malik (1)
Huzaifa Manjra (1)
Naeem Akhter (2)
Idrees Deen (2)
Razi Ahmed (1)
Mohammad Bilal (2)
Goal Type of First Game
3 EV
2 PP
2 EN
3 EV
PIM of First Game
2
8
Score of Second Game Not ApplicableNot Applicable
HAMIDI PREDICTION

SABR WIN
HAMIDI’S APPRENTICE PREDICTION 

SABR WIN
Matchup with Yaqeen:
Lost: 7-2
Lost: 3-5
Lost: 4-2


10:00 PM - Haya (6-0-4) vs Winner of Taqwa/Shukr
We will save the preview for this one for next week leading up to Game Two of the series.

11:00 PM - Yaqeen (7-1-2) vs Winner of Ihsan/SabrSabr
We will save the preview for this one for next week leading up to Game Two of the series.