9pm – Shukr V Ihsan
On to the final four. This matchup is a classic throwback to the Rink City Tier 1 days, as these GM trios have faced each other numerous times over the years. Ihsan, comes in on fire!!!!! Winning it’s last 4 of 5. In which Zayd Agjee has only let in 5 goals. This team led by the slick defensemen Razi Ahmed, the unstoppable Farooq Khan and the high flying Moe Bilal. They have built a team that is all about offence. Both Razi and Farooq sit 1 and 2 on the scoring leaderboard with 20 and 19 points each. The offence was on display in its purity in the 9-2 drubbing of Emaan, where Razi picked up 7 points and Farooq – 6 points. For Ihsan to win this series, they need more than for the GMs to show up. The secondary scoring from Ajmaal Esmatyar, Imran Lakhanpal and Abraar Gangat need to come in bunches here. For as high octane as this offence is, they tend to play lazy and the back-check is where this team needs to improve or else the experience of Shukr will burn them. Shukr showed its prowess last week as they just steamrolled Yaqeen to a 4-0 win. Humza Chaudhry finally had a break out game as his hat trick led the way. GM’s Osman Buttar and Ali Wadee both chipped in with a couple of assists each. For Shukr to continue winning, Humza needs to be scoring. This is one of those series you don’t want to miss. Expect GMs from both sides to log heavy minutes in this game. Will the scoring champ Razi Ahmed lead his team to another victory, or will the experience of Osman Buttar and Ali Wadee be too much.
Leading Scorers:
Ihsan - Razi Ahmed (5G 15A – 20P), Farooq Khan (7G 10A-17P)
Shukr - Osman Buttar (2G 13A – 15P), Ali Wadee (2G 8A-10P)
Who's Hot:
Ihsan - Razi Ahmed (5G 15A – 20P), Farooq Khan (7G 10A-17P)
Shukr - Osman Buttar (Playoffs 3A-3P), Humza Chaudhry (Playoffs 3G-3P)
Who's Not:
Ihsan – Umaar Panchbaya (2G 5A – 7P), Adeel Awan (0G 3A – 3P)
Shukr – Abdur Buttar (0P), Tayyab Kalair (0P)
Analyst Prediction: Shukr Wins Game One
10pm – Ikhlas v Haya
Ikhlas won a thriller last week in overtime. The depth of this squad is just unreal. It was too much for the Malton Kids to handle as Ikhlas won 3-2 via an Overtime goal from Akib Malik, that was reminiscent of the goal he scored for Green Army to secure the Salaam Cup Championship in 2015. Two of Ikhlas’ three goals came from the new guys, Sufyaan Sheikh and Zaid Toorawa. Loaded with Zubair Wahid, Luqman Arshad and Mohammed Hamoudi, they face yet another fast team. Haya comes in with young GM’s Humza Ali, Maaz Haq and Fahad Mohammed. This team is very similar to the team that won the championship last season. But the one that thing that is troubling is the lack of time played for certain players. Maaz has barely played this season in what analysts are saying “Load Management” but the likely reason is because he is hiding an injury. This Load Management stuff is going to haunt this team going into this game as they looked shaky in their last game losing 3-1 to none other than Ikhlas. 13 of its 23 goals have come from Maaz, Humza and Dawood. There just is no secondary scoring here. If Ikhlas plays the trap game like they did last week, Haya is in for a rude awakening. Sulemaan Bhatti has been non existent this season after being in the top 5 of scoring last season. Is it a sophomore slump? Or was last season a fluke because he was paired with Maaz. Ikhlas will look to continue its Cinderella story or will Maaz finally break out and take over like he did last season.
Leading Scorers:
Haya - Humza Ali (6G 8A – 14P)
Ikhlas - Zubair Wahid (8G 6A – 14P)
Who's Hot:
Haya - Humza Ali (6G 8A – 14P), Maaz Haq (4G 6A – 10P)
Ikhlas - Akib Malik (Playoffs – 1G), Zaid Toorawa (Playoffs-1G)
Who's Not:
Haya - Sulemaan Bhatti (1G 4A-5P), Farrukh Khan (1G 2A – 3P)
Ikhlas – Luqman Arshad (1G 2A – 3P), Abdur-Rahim Manjra (1G 6A- 7P)
Analyst Prediction: Ikhlas wins Game One
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