Fall Season - Week Eleven - December 8th

Frantic Friday:You start off getting drafted on to a team of brothers for the most part you haven’t had the chance to play with.  You build chemistry as your team goes through the rigors of the regular season. You have some success and you have some failures along the way. Your team earns a playoff spot and takes one step closer to the ultimate goal. But sadly for three teams that is as far as they will get… they will take to the locker room one last time this season… give farewell-Salaams to their teammates, knowing that they will see some of them in different colour uniforms for the upcoming spring season. Only two teams will survive ‘Frantic Friday’.     

8:00 PM - Wildcard: Shukr (4) vs Yaqeen (5)Background: Be careful for what you wish for. In the final week of the regular season Shukr (red) had the chance to send Yaqeen (white) home (and in turn avoid playing in this game). Yaqeen was down to their final breath needing to win last week so they could play in the wildcard game. When you have a chance to finish a team you got to take advantage. Shukr may regret what happened in Week 10 as now Yaqeen has a second life. After going through this war, one of these teams needs to reset and get ready to take on #-1 seed, Sabr (yellow), an hour after.

Yaqeen won season series: 1-0-1
In Game One they teams tied 0-0; Three Stars of that game: 1^st- Ahmad Mobin (Yaqeen); 2^nd Star- Mohammad Hamoud (Shukr); 3^rd Star: Arslan Mian (Yaqeen)

In Game Two, Yaqeen won 2-1:; Three Stars of that game: 1^st- Ahmad Mobin (Yaqeen); 2^nd Star- Jazib Khan (Yaqeen); 3^rd Star: Humza Ali (Shukr)

Goals For: Shukr - 5^th; Yaqeen - 6^th
Goals Against:  Shukr - 3^rd; Yaqeen - 5^th
Shots Allowed: Shukr - 156; Yaqeen - 204
Top Goal Scorer: Shukr - Dawood Ciombar (5); Yaqeen - Farrukh Khan (4)
Points Leader: Shukr - Humza Ali (13); Yaqeen - Farrukh Khan (8)

9:00 PM - Semi-Finals #1: Emaan (2) vs Haya (3)

Background: Last week, both of these teams were looking to avoid playing in the wildcard game. While they both accomplished not having to play an extra game, neither Emaan (orange) or Haya (grey) looked “playoff ready”. This is obvious last week for Haya with their 3-0 lost against Sabr (evening getting serenaded with the “Na-Na-Na-Na-Hey-Hey-Goodbye by the Sabr fanbase from the balcony). Also for Emaan despite winning 4-2 most observers would agree that Ikhlas (green) deserved a better fate. Neither team is riding a wave of momentum heading into this matchup. This will all become minor details for one of these teams, as the winner will be finals bound. Which team is able to recover from their respective (brief) slide and seize the moment?

Emaan won season series: 2-0

In Game One Emaan won 5-1; Three Stars of that game: 1^st- Saleem Malik (Emaan); 2^nd Star- Farooq Sani (Emaan); 3^rd Star: Yusuf Kapoor (Emaan)

In Game Two, Emaan won 2-1; Three Stars of that game: 1^st- Idrees Deen (Emaan); 2^nd Star- Junaid Mohammed (Haya); 3^rd Star: Farooq Sani (Emaan)

Goals For: Emaan - 2^nd ; Haya - 3^rd
Goals Against:  Emaan - 2^nd; Haya - 4th
Shots Allowed: Emaan - 142 ; Haya - 195
Top Goal Scorer: Emaan - Saleem Malik (5); Haya - Furqan Salam (10)
Points Leader: Emaan - Saleem Malik & Farooq Sani (11); Haya - Furqan Salam (12)

10:00 PM- Semi-Finals #2: Shukr(4)/Yaqeen (5) vs Sabr (1)

Background: Sabr should in theory get a tired team. This is the advantage they have earned by way of finishing first in the regular season standings. However, despite their impressive campaign, it is a bit concerning when a team’s main core are rookies to I-Slam Hockey. How do these first-timers handle the pressure? Playing in other leagues where you can sign up a group of your buddies season after season is vastly different than I-Slam Hockey; your teammates become your opponents next season. You can tell this group gets along well, but again it begs the question how do they deal with the pressure of knowing tonight might be their last game of the season?  

Sabr vs Shukr:  Shukr has played Sabr tough in both regular season contest, however Sabr won season series 2-0 (Game One: 1-0 & Game Two: 2-0)

Sabr vs Yaqeen: Sabr had an easier time with Yaqeen during the regular season, however their latest encounter was a close contest that saw Yaqeen have a lead to start the 2^nd half. Sabr won season series 2-0 (Game One: 6-0 & Game Two: 3-1) 

Goals For: Sabr -1st
Goals Against:  Sabr -1st
Shots Allowed: Sabr -124
Top Goal Scorer: Sabr - Maaz Haq (6)
Points Leader: Sabr - Maaz Haq (18)