So far games have been intra-conference. Starting this week, teams in the Medina Conference will be going up against teams in the Mecca Conference. All teams have completed their first circuit within their own conference and now, for the next four weeks teams get to potentially see what will be waiting for them in the finals. Let’s take a look on each team’s performance of the three games they have had within their respective conference.
8 PM: Haya (Medina) vs Yaqeen (Mecca)
Haya-grey (2-1)
This veteran team sit on top of the Medina Conference. Give credit to them for sticking with it because after being out-classed by Ridha in Week 1, 4-0 they have roared back in a major way. Two straight victories over Sabr (2-0) and Ihsan (4-3) have definitely cause heads to turn. I guess it is no coincidence that Farooq Sani has earned three star honours the past two weeks (First Star in Week 2 vs Sabr and Second Star in Week 3 vs Ihsan). This team starts off strong but tends to labour in closing out games. They have four first-half goals in comparison to only scoring twice in the second-half. Also, they have only let in one goal in the first-half, but have conceded 6 in the second-half (which is the worst in the entire league). In the end, they seem to be doing enough at the start of games to over-weigh the collapses they are having in the second period. Lastly, the veteran experience is really shinning through for this team as they have been penalized the least thus far.
Yaqeen-white (2-1)
Yaqeen has scored the most goals this season (although it should be noted they put up six versus Emaan back in Week 1). All nine of their goals have come even-strength. In fact, this team doesn’t appear to be afforded even the opportunity to have a man advantage! They have only been on the power-play a grand total of 4 minutes! This makes them leading the league in scoring even more impressive. They are also really good on the other end too and also have let in the fewest goals against. To this point, Yaqeen’s two victories have both been shutouts by Yasir Hussain. If this team can find a way to get their PP going, then there is no question in my mind that Yaqeen will separate themselves as one of the elite teams.
9 PM: Ihsan (Medina) vs Ikhlas (Mecca)
Ihsan-teal (1-2)
Ihsan has been dealing with injuries all season. On that front, sadly their GM Humza Chaudhry will not be returning this season and their goaltender Ahmad Mobin is still rehabbing a torn MCL suffered back in Week 1. Ahmed Chaudhry (former Team Pakistan player) has replaced Humza. Despite all of this the show must go on. In their two defeats so far they have given up 4 goals in each of those games (2-4 vs Sabr and 4-3 vs Haya). This places them second worse in goals against. All of the 8 goals that hit the back of Ihsan’s net have been 5 on 5. Not helping their cause is they have allowed 62 shots against, the most in the league. Considering their starting goaltender is on the IR list, they definitely need to do better in limiting their opponent’s chances. At the other end, Ihsan scores most of their goals in the 2nd half (5 out of their 6 goals). Carrying this team and tied for first in points is Ijaz Chaudhry (3 Goals and 3 Assists). In three games, he has been one of the three stars selected every week.
Ikhlas-green (0-2-1)
Ikhlas has yet to recover from the Week 1 collapse against Shukr. In fact, they remain the only team yet to win a game. Here’s why:
1. Dead last in goals for (3 goals)
2. Only one even strength goal
3. Has given up the most power play goals against (3)
4. Highest number of penalty minutes accumulated (24)
There are a lot of things wrong with this team that needs to be addressed right now. At the moment there is nothing much to get excited with this team. However, one-win in I-slam changes the tides of momentum in a hurry.
10 PM: Ridha (Medina) vs Emaan (Mecca)
Ridha-blue (1-2)
I had to do a double look but this team is in fact the last place team in the Medina Conference. We had high expectations for this group so this comes as a complete shocker. A bit of context here is attendance was an issue the past two weeks as Ridhasuffered back to back losses to Sabr (4-2) and Ihsan (1-0). Similar to Ihsan, Ridha are slow starters, scoring 5 of their 6 goals in the second half. Surprisingly, Ridha has zero power play goals. This is simply unacceptable given they have the following players on their roster: Abdu Sharkawy, Arif Bijabhai, Shehryar Khan, Mohammad Bilal and Shaukat Khan. The standout players on this team have been their goaltender Ali Khwaja and Ahmad Ibrahim (1 goal and 2 Assists).
Emaan-orange (1-2)
This team needs to improve their offence. Not sure why considering they have the Soliman Trio (Yousuf, Hany and Osama). They have only scored 4 goals which is second worst in the entire league. If you take into account that they have drawn 36 penalty minutes from their opponents (the highest out of the 8 teams) it leaves one bewildered as to why they have the lowest total of shots for (only 40 shots so far). In addition they have let in the most goals against, however 6 of these came back in Week 1’s defeated by Yaqeen. Despite the fact that Hany Soliman has been one of their best players (2 goals), Emaanneeds more output from him to help solve their offensive struggles.
11 PM: Sabr (Medina) vs Shukr (Mecca)
Sabr-yellow (2-1)
Sabr is being led by their 1-2 punch of Waqar Khan (“Boom-Boom”) and Yousuf Sowdagar. Who both at the moment are co-leaders in overall points (note: they are also tied with Ihsan’sIjaz Chaudhry with 6 points). They have the second best offence in the league with 8 goals, behind Yaqeen. Although I would place an * because Yaqeen got 6 goals in one game. Sabrgenerates the most chances out of any team (63 total shots so far) and has scored 6 of their 8 goals in the second half. Oddly enough they have surrendered all of their goals against (6 in total) during the second half, which ties them with Haya for worst in the league.
Shukr-red (2-0-1)
Fitting we end with the leagues only undefeated team! After salvaging point against Ikhlas in the dying moments of Week 1, Shukr has been on a roll with victories over Yaqeen and Emaan. In my opinion Shukr is the most balanced team. They are tied with Sabr for scoring most goals scored (8 goals, one behind Yaqeen for the overall lead). They have generated 60 shots through 3 games (2nd best overall and only 3 shots behind Sabr). As well, Defensively they have been sound only giving up 4 goals through three games (second best behind Yaqeen). Standout player include Maaz Haq (2 goals and 3 Assists) andgoal-scoring leader Humaiz Shahid (3 goals).
