7:30 PM – Yaqeen (2-1-1) vs Ihsan (1-0-2):
The Medina Crown is there for the taking. Yaqeen (white) is coming off their first loss of the campaign against Taqwa by a 4-3 score. With this loss things are coming fast and furious as they look to fend off Ihsan (teal) from taking over the top spot in the division. It was pointed out the Yaqeen over-relied on Maaz Haq to help win games. The funny thing is they got secondary scoring from Saleem Malik and Suleman Bhatti with Arif Bijabhai picking up a pair of assists but still ended up losing last week. Nonetheless if they continue to get contributions throughout their lineup then Yaqeen is shaping up as a well-rounded team. Their downfall last week was they could not recover from a poor first half where they allowed three straight goals. Contrary, Ihsan had a strong first-half and their offense exploded against a very good Sabr team. Seven goals, the most scored by any team so far, saw all but one of their players register a point. Stand-out performers include: Huzaifa Manjra (4 points), Idrees Deen (3 points), Akib Malik (2 points), Naeem Akhtar (2 goals), Zulqarnain Imtiaz (2 points) and Ajmal Esmatyar (2 points). With the exception of a two minute span where Sabr scored three straight goals, Ihsan looked really dominant from start to finish. They scored every way possible- EN, EV, SH and PP. If this Ihsan team shows up this week then there is little doubt we will have a shift in the Medina Division.
Prediction: Ihsan win (Ajmal Esmatyar with the GWG)
8:30 PM – Taqwa (3-0-0) vs Emaan (1-2-1):
Taqwa (black) had a hot start against Yaqeen and never looked back. This game was never in doubt. The only thing you can accuse them for is not maintaining their intensity for the full 30 minutes. Humza Ali went on to collect hats, and him along with line-mates Dawood Ciombar and Huzaifa Panchbhaya are second, third and fourth in overall scoring. Taqwa’s first line is arguably the most feared line in the entire league. They look to stretch their win-streak to four games as they continue their tour of the Medina Division with a matchup with Emaan (orange). They will be under stress right from the opening face-off as either Ciombar or Ali will be in the penalty box for not submitting a recap last week (live reaction of their penalty killers here). Emaan will be looking to capitalize on this opportunity considering that Taqwa has surrendered a short-handed goal in two of their three games. Things are looking up for Emaan as they are no doubt the most improve team in the entire league. All their defeats have been close, so we expected it was just a matter of time until they broke through and finally win a game. With a big first half against Ikhlas, Emaan was able to secure their first victory powered mainly by Mudasser Hussain (4 points) and Brain Beauvais (3 points). With the high possibility of either Yaqeen or Ihsan not collecting any points in the 7:30 game this will be a great opportunity for Emaan to move closer to the top spot in the Medina Division.
Prediction: Taqwa Win
9:30 PM & 11:30 – Sabr (2-1-1) vs Haya (1-0-2):
Before the season started this was our predicted finals matchup. The fate of the Mecca division could be determined after the completion of this double header. Sabr (yellow) is coming off their first defeat of the season in which they were thoroughly embarrassed. They had to take the ball out from the back of their net seven times last Friday. Their undisciplined play reared its ugly head once again but this time it cost them dearly as Ihsan capitalized on 2 powerplays. Mentally where are they at? And can they put last week’s abomination behind them? At the other side of the rink, their opponents, Haya (grey) are coming into this contest on an emotional high. With their leader Waqar Khan leaving the game after taking an inadvertent stick to the face, the boys rallied together to score on the PP (courtesy of Erfan Bhanapatel) to come away with surprisingly their first victory of the season. Prior to this series of events it looked like Haya was on route to another tie. However, after seeing one of your own go through a devastating incident, an event like this can cause a team to come together and getter’ done for your fallen brother. Whether or not Khan has recovered, it is important for Haya to continue to ride the momentum they are currently on remembering their leader would love to be out there on the battle field with them.
Prediction: Sabr wins the 9:30 pm game but Haya will bounce back and win the 11:30 pm game
10:30 – Ikhlas (0-2-2) vs Shukr (1-1-1):
The award for the most disappointing team of the season (so far) goes to Ikhlas (green). They have not won a game and we are approaching the halfway point of the season. This is simply inexcusable for a team that had the first overall pick. Attention all Ikhlas players where was your sense of urgency last week… you fell behind four to nothing before the first half was over and then decided to play? This team needs a harsh dose of truth. They can start by looking at where they are in the standings and hopefully that sparks them to bring intensity right from their start. Their opponents are Shukr (red) who had last week off. This game is huge for Shukr in terms of a) preventing Ikhlas from passing them in the standings and b) a win on Friday will help them keep Taqwa in their sight for tops in the Jerusalem Division
Prediction: If Ikhlas does not win, we will never pick them again for the rest of the season.
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