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.
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