Fall Season - Week Four - Oct 28th

Ikhlas vs Haya

Ikhlas continues to swim the murky waters of defeat for another week. Their recent loss comes from the hands of Emaan where the orange shirts beat them silly in a 5-1 drubbing. Ikhlas's struggles have been global. Offence is dismal, defence has got more holes than swiss cheese and goaltending has just struggled. GM Salman Khalid and his squad must step it up this week if they want to verified as serious contenders. Can Ikhlas conquer Haya? Or will Ikhlas add another loss to their already damaged record?

After a two week bye, Haya finally tested the waters in the league and allowed a two goal lead to slip away. Regardless, the grey shirts left the arena with a point in hand and now venture to put Ikhlas through more misery. Haya, a team filled with weathered players didn't fair that bad for their first game and can't face any criticism yet. GM Naeem Akhtar and company won't get a free ride but need to expose green's suspicious defence. Can Haya win their first game this week? 

Emaan vs Sabr

Emaan's regular season expedition has been up and down with many guessing their credibility. GM Furqan Salam's posse rebounded from an Ihsan loss some time back and recently won an explosive five goal beatdown over Ikhlas. This week's opposition is Sabr and keeping age in mind, it's probably fitting to dub this match as, "Battle of the Ages". A win for Emaan notches them in first place alongside Yaqeen. Can Emaan outwit the seasoned roster of Sabr?

Sabr's position on the standings has many bewildered. The yellow shirts started off with and 0-2 record and possibly had many round table discussions relating to their the squad's direction. However, if their previous "never say never" mentality remains consistent then maybe last week's tie game is a building block for a big win this Friday. With the odds heavily favouring against them, GM Naiem Malik has a lot of homework in solving the Emaan camp. Can Sabr match Emaan's hustle? Can Akib Malik lead the team to win #1?

Ihsan vs Shukr

Ihsan puts their unbeaten streak on the line as they face off against Shukr. The Soliman's and associates have been steam rolling the opposition and riding some high waves. Hany Soliman continues to dominate the white shirt's team stats while netminder Zaid Majoo proves that size is everything. The backend here plays a tight game but secondary scoring on this team is absent. How long can Hany Soliman go?  Can Ihsan put the pedal on the metal and drive their winning streak to three?

Shukr has been swaying weekly and recently suffered a nasty loss to Yaqeen. GM Haris Mallick's clan played an outstanding first period but found themselves swimming against the currents of the second period. After a 3-0 loss, Shukr needs a big win this week and anticipate Arssal Shahabuddin and Idrees Deen to get the job done. Goaltender Kaunain Sayied has given his team breathing room each week and also needs a big win to get the team going. Can GM Haris Mallick and his defensive corps halt Hany and company?

Fall Season - Week Three - October 21st

Week 3 Previews:

GAME 1- Haya vs Sabr:

Welcome to the show Haya! Haya eager to finally start their season sees them squaring off against a hungry Sabr team searching desperately for their first win. This is an interesting matchup where on one side you have a team that could be experiencing off-season rust and on the other side there is a team trying to develop some chemistry after being blown out in two straight games. For Sabr, they simply need more from their rookie goaltender, Imran Merchant. For sure he has the raw skills and potential but he needs to develop confidence in himself after a rough start to his I-slam career. However, this is not to absolve the rest of the Sabr team as it has become evident they need to be better in protecting their goaltender. Currently, they rank third overall in shots against, so they really haven’t made it easy for Imran to transition smoothly into the league. This defensive core of Sadat Malik, Luqman Arshad and Naiem Malik will be in tough as Haya has a dangerous offensive threat of Hisham Ali, Aazar Zafar, Huzaifa Manjra and Mehmed Rizanovic. What will be critical for Sabr is to try to catch Haya off guard early in the game and make the game as uncomfortable for a team playing their first game. If Haya’s netminder Khalid Mufti is able to keep the game close in the first half expect Haya to eventually run away with this game.

GAME 2- Emaan vs Ikhlas:

Each team is trying to bounce back from Week 2 defeats. For Ikhlas, similar to Sabr they find themselves down 0-2. Their situation is different, there seems to be no issue with their goaltender Rahil Ahmed as he has kept them in games while being peppered with shots. Unfortunately he can’t score goals. The forwards for Ikhlas haven’t produced much and their defense hasn’t protected their house. Early pre-season previews predicted this team will have difficulties scoring. However the two games they played were against early season favourites of Ihsan and Yaqeen. Perhaps things will change facing off against Emaan who also give up a lot of shots (2nd highest just after Ikhlas). For Emaan, they give up a lot of shots and are also having a hard time generating offense; last week they only had 5 shots on net in the 2nd half. At the moment only Emaan’s Zaid Toorawa and Umair Awan seems to be driving the team bus scoring in 2 straight games. This is quite surprising because out of all the teams Emaan seems to have the greatest depth upfront. With players like Ali Murtaza, Furqan Salam, Waqar Khan, Wakaaz Khan, Adeel Awan and Jibraan Salam, it was expected that this team would be an offensive juggernaut and for the scoring to be more distributed for Emaan. The key for Emaan will try to use their depth upfront and try to break down Ikhlas as the game progresses. Likewise, Ikhlas probably should have a similar game plan and take advantage of the fact that Emaan is among the leaders in shots against and try for once playing with a lead. Both teams need to come in with the mindset that, - “I missed 100 % of shots I didn’t take”.

GAME 3- Yaqeen vs Shukr
Yaqeen has been steam rolling the competition; they simply don’t make any mistakes. Out of all the teams we seen so far (Note- Haya hasn’t played), Yaqeen appears to be the most well-rounded. Yaqeen’s Arsal Mian, Sajid Ayubi are 1 & 2 in scoring, Humza Chaudhry leads the league in goals scored & Faraaz Alvi is top five in goals scored and Yusuf Kapoor is quietly putting together a solid season. Shukr also comes in hot or do they? They doubled up on Sabr 6 to 3 in Week 2. But is this game an outlier that just skewed and padded stats in their favour? What I will say is they did not look too good in the 2nd half when Sabr was able to claw their way back into their game and create a sense of anxiety on Shukr’s bench. To be fair to Shukr was this the case where they were so dominant in the first half and just let their foot off the gas to gave Sabr an opportunity to make a game out of it? We will get a better sense of this Shukr team after this game. However, considering how Yaqeen has played thus far, in my honest opinion, I just don’t see any scenario of Shukr winning this game. Not to say it can’t happen, unfair to Haya, but at the moment Yaqeen (along with Ihsan) seem to be separating themselves from the rest of the pack.

Fall Season - Week Two - October 14th

WEEK 2 PREVIEWS

Game 1 – Ihsan (1-0) vs Emaan (1-0)

Both teams are coming off 2-1 Week 1 victories. Majority of people have pegged Ihsan to win it all as it seems they have a well rounded team. What was remarkable about Ihsan’s performance in Week 1 was their team defense sucked the life out of Ikhlas holding them to only three shots in the first half and 12 overall. Except for one, the shots that were able to get through were steered as side from former ‘Best Goaltender of the Year’ Winner Zaid Majoo. On the other end, Hany Soliman carried Ihsan on his back and torched the 4th overall pick in this year’s draft twice, earning him the 1st Star of the Week. It is pretty impressive that Hany Soliman was able to solve Ikhlas’ defense and superstar goaltender considering that Ikhlas was built from the net out during the draft. If Ihsan can get 2 against that defense, they should in theory be able to victimize Emaan (who were not impressive in Week 1) for a couple more in Week 2. However, Emaan will counter with their former ‘Best Goaltender of the Year’ Winner Ahmad Mobin to keep Ihsan in check. As previously noted, although Emaan won their first game they did not look good. Against Shukr, they went an abysmal 0-5 on the PP, were out-shot 19-15 and even had an own goal. But why be negative, right? They found a way to win- It does not make sense but can’t argue against the final result. With that said, it is hard to envision them having continued success with that type of effort though.

Game 2- Yaqeen (1-0) vs Ikhlas (0-1)

Yaqeen simply out-classed Sabr in Week 1. Sajid Ayubi led the charge and put up 1 G and 2A. A lot of credit should go to Yaqeen’s high powered offense, showing no mercy to Sabr’s rookie goaltender Imran Merchant, but what got lost in their Week 1 victory is they only gave up 11 shots for the game! Yaqeen put up those numbers against a rook in his first game, but now they face Rahil Ahmed (Week 1 3rd Star) and an Ikhlas team that has a defense first mentality. As in the first week, expect Rahil to face a lot of (high-quality) shots and be relied on heavily. There is no doubt Salman Khalid & Yusuf Buttar of Ikhlas will do their part to support their net-minder, but a big question mark for Ikhlas is where is the goals going to come from?

Game 3- Shukr (0-1) vs (Sabr 0-1)

Life sometimes can be unfair- outshot, outworked, outhustle and took the game to Emaan in Week 1 but Shukr had a defensive lapse that cost them at least a point in the standings. A first impression of Shukr is that win, lose, or draw there a team that will make you work. Shukr needs to work on being more discipline as in the first week they had 5 minor penalties, two of them were from the leaders of this team (Arssal Shahabuddin & Idris Deen). Sabr on the other hand needs to forget about the beating they took in Week 1. For their sake, hopefully Akib Malik and Rizwan Malik take the floor this Friday. Perhaps goalie Imran Merchant was a bit nervous last week and now having some time to process things has settled down. Still is it the chicken or the egg or both? Before the ball gets to a goaltender it has to get through the defense. Both teams look to avoid an early 0-2 hole.

Spring Previews: Championship Finals (Series Preview) - May 27th

Emaan vs Haya: (Head To Head: Emaan wins 2-0-0)

Two teams. One mission. In one corner, you have Emaan, a team who've set a precedence as the league's most noisiest offence. Team orange has been a menace this season and has penalized each team on the scoresheet. Their ability to suffocate the opposition in their own zone has been a talent that hasn't been replicated by many teams. They might not be defensively decisive, but have been able to hold their own. This first place squad has every right to flex their guns, but do remember the i-Slam myth:

"No first place team has ever won the championships..."

In the other corner, you have Haya. A team peppered with dynamic players that have braved many storms to reach this point of the spring season. Haya was on a roll earlier this season as this squad toppled anyone that dared to be an obstacle. Then Waqar Khan left for a brief Pakistani stint and for almost a month the team appeared to be writing their own obituary. Haya became a nail-bitter but then the resurgence of Khan revitalized the aura in Haya, and here we are, two wins away from the finish line. Can Haya take it all the way?

Offense:

Emaan's offensive guts has been the infectious line of Al-Hundi-Hindy-Sowdagar. The trio have set record points and have stunned the opposition with their chemistry. Unfortunately, the bus remains stationary past Emaan's first line. Huzaifa Manjara has lit the lamp when feasible, but there was more expectations from first round pick Arif Bijabhai. The lanky sprinter has only 1 point in the last 5 games and needs to get out of this funk. 

Haya has been fortunate to witness offensive avenues as colourful as a plate of biryani, after Waqar Khan that is. This diversity will be key for the blue shirts as Azhar Kalair, Farooq Sani and Azim Siddique will be expected to rise to the occasion. Speaking about Khan, the strapping forward has a mammoth 7 points in his last 4 games and will be on the radar for Emaan. Farooq Sani has also been a heavy broker upfront and will see heavy minutes in the next two games. 

Defense:

Emaan has been tender around the corners when it comes to their defensive coverage. The orange shirts still remain notorious for allowing the most goals and need to add a big piece to assist with Huzaifa Manjara on the blue line. Saqib Sheikh and Madni Danial are meeting the basic criteria; but will these pieces win you a championship? The orange shirts will need defenders that can shadow and out-muscle studs like Waqar Khan and Azhar Kalair.

Neutralizing Emaan's forward will be the theme for Haya, and that's where the experience of Sajid Bhayat plays an orbital role. Reeling in this booksmart defensemen into the locker room was a clever maneuver for Haya. Expect Bhayat to dictate the backend while Farrukh Khan's offensive attention hopefully creates scoring chances for the blue shirts. GM Zuhair Fancy's presence at the blue line adds some welcomed physicality that should disturb Emaan's offensive cohort.

Goaltending:

Khalid Mufti is no stranger to the post season and has been through this phase before. Mufti will be highly counted on stealing games for his crew while shutting down Waqar Khan and company. His playoff experience should be advantageous compared to his rival.

If there's a monumental task for Kaunain Saiyed then it's succeeding in these next two games. Saiyed might not be as experienced as Khalid Mufti but has sold the skeptics with his newly found confidence. Kaunain has been the saviour in previous games and will be expected on holding the fort for his team. 

Whom are you riding with? Can Haya muffle Emaan once and for all? Or will Emaan storm passed Haya with their elaborate and grizzled offence?

Spring Previews - Week Thirteen - May 20th

Emaan vs Ihsan

Emaan had no pity over Ihsan in game one of the semifinals as the orange shirts scraped off team red in a 5-3 decision. Emaan went buck will over Ihsan and hammered Zaid Majoo and company with their "premium" lineup of Al-Hundi-Hindy-Sowdagar. Will Emaan be able to close this series and jump to the finals? How will Emaan respond to the fresh Ihsan roster this week? GM Ibrahim Hindy's squad appeared convincing in their first post season match but will expect a more frenzied effort from Ihsan this week. Huzaifa Manjara's return to the backend provides stability; but how will the remainder of the defensive cast reply? Can Emaan break the haunting first place myth? 

The red shirts could've used some Red Bull last week! Ihsan was tired from their wild card game and just didn't have the gas to survive the volley of attacks by Emaan. GM Fuzail Thakur and company need to exploit Emaan's defence and get producing again. Forwards Ahmad Hathout and Nadeem Faqiri have been shouldering most of the offensive burden and need to elevate their game. Netminder Zaid Majoo faced 21 shots and needs the defensive shielding versus an offensively saturated Emaan team. Will Ihsan be able to neutralize Emaan and own the seats to the finals? Will Salman Khalid and his defensive clique be able to tolerate the orange shirts?

Burning Questions?Which team will reserve their seats to the finals?

Who's Hot?

Yousuf Sowdagar once again punched out a 3 point night.

Player To Watch:

Ahmad Hathout has been the torchbearer all season long. Can he carry this team to the finals?

Haya vs Shukr

This clash was predicted to be a physical battle, and man it was a 10.0 on the richter scale. Haya was outmuscled, outplayed and outshot, yet still pulled off a remarkable win with goaltender Kaunain Saiyed showing no sign of quivering. A sneaky Shoaib Bhatti was found slithering around the net to notch the team's only and winning goal. Haya is 30 minutes away from the promise land and needs to contain those stubborn veterans. GM Zuhair Fancy's team didn't buckle and withstood Shukr's resilience with Azim Siddique and Ozair Naveed sacrificing their bodies on numerous slapshots. Will Haya be able to shock Shukr? Can Waqar Khan exploit Shukr's aging defence?

There was a silent dissatisfaction amongst the Shukr bench. How did they lose to a team whom had no business winning? GM/Coach K has tamed his team well but let's admit it, Haya's goaltender stole that game. On to game two and it's no secret that Shukr will come out of the flood gates thirsty for revenge. Shukr's defence did a great job of shutting down Waqar Khan but unfortunately the remaining backend was permeated at times. Stud goaltender Yasir Hussain has played phenomenal all season long and will have his "A" game on hand this Friday. Can Salim Malik and Aazar Zafar solve Haya? All the marbles are on the table for both teams. Who will be victorious?

Burning Questions?Which team will reserve their seats to the finals?

Who's Hot?

No body for either team.

Player To Watch:

Ali Murtaza has always been an influential player in both ends of the rink. He'll be looked upon to get through Haya.

Spring Previews - Week Twelve - May 13th

Ikhlas vs Ihsan

Ikhlas had a thundering amount of momentum going into there match last week versus Emaan but unfortunately succumbed to their tenacious forwards in a 7-5 drubbing. Regardless, the green shirts have planted themselves in the wild card match and are set to confront Ihsan in a one game wonder. Ikhlas's roster isn't as proportionally balanced as others teams but withhold some pieces that are pivotal facets to winning this nail bitter  Saqib Khokhar and Idrees Deen's arrival has awarded this team a new identity. Humza Chaudhry and Arsalan Mian need to continue their offensive intrusion while Junaid Mohammad and Haris Mallick turn on the engines in the backend. Will Yusuf Kapoor be able to get his squad through this wild card game?

Ihsan suffered a jolting experience against Shukr last week. The red shirts were cornered in their own zone for most of the time and fell victim in a 4-1 spanking. Ihsan's narrative has been intriguing yet dramatic. Team red experienced many trials and tribulations all season long but managed to align their mission once Zaid Majoo set foot in the roster. Akin to Ikhlas, the notion of this squad making it to the wild card match was preposterous, but here they are! Expect Ahmed Hathout and Nadeem Faqiri to put the opposition under stress while Salman Khalid and GM Fuzail Thakur endure the onslaught of speed from Ikhlas's forwards. Will Zaid Majoo be able to handle the barrage of shots from the green shirts?  

Burning Questions?
Which team will win the wild card match and face Emaan?

Who's Hot?

Humza Chaudhry has attained some serious numbers and sits within the top five amongst scoring leaders.

Player To Watch:

Expect Ahmad Hathout to pull all the rabbits from the hat against Ikhlas. The brawny forward will need to provide some offensive punch in getting the red shirts through the night.

Haya vs Shukr

Haya faced a skeleton roster of Sabr and laughed away the night in a 6-1 beating. GM Zuhair Fancy's team wasted no time in dehydrating the opposition and bidding them a final farewell as Sabr was eliminated from any playoff anticipation. Earlier in the season, there was a concern where the avenues of scoring would originate from. Well, judging from their stats there's no ceiling for Haya when offence is concerned. Waqar Khan, Farooq Sani and Azhar Kalair will need to be the gateways in getting Haya through the first game jitters. Farrukh Khan and Sajid Bhayat must be A1 in the backend while netminder Kaunain Saiyed looks to silence Shukr's lethal weapons. Will Haya be able to overthrow Shukr? 

There's a heap load of depth in Shukr, but it doesn't mean that their unbeatable. Shukr has had a few bad games but when they've clicked it's been absolutely bruising for the opposition. Despite having a wiser roster, GM Kashif Taqiuddin's squad will make sure Haya endures a taxing experience. Unlike Haya's reserve of offence, Shukr has been blessed with many arms that can score and defensive studs that will regret you pondered the thought of crossing the blue line. Salem Malik, Aazar Zafar and Ali Murtaza will be the key guys that will interrogate Kaunain Saiyed while buddies Luqman Arshad, Sadat Malik and Naiem Malik barricade Yasir Hussain. Will Shukr's experience counter Haya's speedy forwards? 

Burning Questions?
Which team will draw first blood and win game one?

Who's Hot?

Saleem Malik has been on fire with his offensive production. The resilient forward will be on the radar for Haya.

Player To Watch:

Waqar Khan is always the player to watch. Khan will be the focal point of the night for Shukr.

Emaan vs TBD

The orange shirts put a smackdown on the kids of Ikhlas as GM Ibrahim Hindy and company marched off the arena floor in an assuring 7-5 win. Emaan will eagerly await to discover who their foes are as the winner of the wild card game catches their breath to battle Emaan. Nonetheless, Emaan has had the number of both Ikhlas and Ihsan yet have faced adversity with the two in the recent half of the season. GM Ibrahim Hindy, Yousuf Sowdagar and Gehad Al-Hundi have had a record year with their stats and will be a behemoth versus Ikhlas or Ihsan. As mentioned before, the only thing that'll sting Emaan's rear end is their defence. The orange shirts have the most goals for and coincidently permitted the most goals against. Emaan will need to cover the defensive gaps if their agenda is the the championships. Will Arif Bijabhai get back on the scoresheet? Will Emaan conquer the first game?

Burning Questions?
Which team will draw first blood and win game one?

Who's Hot?
Emaan's first line of course. They've been unprecedented and tough to contain.

Player To Watch:

Goaltender Khalid Mufti has had a decent season and will be keen on getting by the first round.

Spring Previews - Week Eleven - May 6th

Sabr vs Haya

Sabr's quest for claiming that wild card match is over. The final nail in the coffin was stamped last week as Haya beat team teele in a 3-1 decision. A short bench, injuries and unavailable players have been the ingredients to Sabr's disappointing season. With Haya on deck for the teele shirts again this week, the relevance for this game will to be closes out the season on a strong note. Captain Yousuf Soliman will try to pry this squad's talent in winning this final game before walking away in the sunset. Can Sabr get the job done this time?

After losing four games straight, Haya revived their winning groove with a monumental win over Sabr. The blue shirts seemed more settled and capitalized on Sabr's rushed efforts. Without Khan, the blue shirts were dropping games at a drastic rate and presented an effort that was a far cry from how they defeated some big teams earlier in the season. Haya concludes their regular season with a rematch of Sabr and will attempt to tally another win for the standings. A win versus Sabr would net Haya a comfy spot in the standings. Can Haya own Sabr?

Burning Questions?
Can Sabr finish the night with a big win?

Who's Hot?

Azhar Kalair scored two goals last game and has supplied some excellent offense for his squad.

Player To Watch:

Sajid Khan has been a beast on the backend and always displays a relentless effort. Will Khan be able to shadow Waqar Khan?

Ikhlas vs Emaan

Ikhlas pulled off a character win last week as they shocked the I-Slam fanfare with a convincing win over Emaan. This will be a team to watch out! Their young guns came through, defenders Haris Mallick and Waseem Kalair also made life unbearable for Emaan's first line while playing valuable minutes in the backend. Once again, Idrees Deen came out smelling like roses and plagued the Emaan defenders with trouble. Saqib Khokhar continues to shine and left with the last laugh as his former team were left scratching their heads. Will Ikhlas be able to out-hustle Emaan again?

Emaan wants that game back from Ikhlas last week. The orange shirts left dazed and lost to the green shirts by a head scratching 4-2 score. Emaan's defence is hurting them and last game seemed like their backend was held by pins and needles. Team orange plugged away but Ikhlas had an answer for everything including 3 botched power plays, we'd expect Emaan to light the lamp at least once. You can bet that Emaan will come out stronger than ever this week an will demonstrate why their the first place team. Can Emaan turn it around this week versus Ikhlas?

Burning Questions?

Will this week wake up Arif Bijabhai? The goliath has been pointless in his last three games.

Who's Hot?

Abdul-Rahman Buttar had a huge night last week. The nimble player left the rink on a three point night.

Player To Watch:

Goaltender Yusuf Kapoor has matured as a goalie and made some jaw dropping saves in a authentic 4-2 win.

Ihsan vs Shukr

The upward surge continues for Ihsan with the red shirts feeding off a shortened Shukr bench for a 1-0 win. Believe it or not but netminder Zaid Majoo's presence to the Ihsan camp was a huge shot in the arm. This ain't monkey business for Ihsan, the red shirts are riding high on a four game unbeaten streak and look to add another feather in that winning cap. Ahmed Hathout and Nadeem Faqiri will need to continue haunting Shukr's defence while Salman Khalid and GM Fuzail Thakur mind the blue line. Will Majoo crank out another win?

The word was that Shukr was missing six players last game but still managed to keep the score down to a 1-0 loss, not bad. The blue shirt's depth has been the main factor to why they exist in every game. Players like Aazar Zafar and Ali Murtaza bring that effort and grizzle that has Shukr breathing for survival in every game. With GM Kashif Taqiuddin out of the roster, in comes veteran Naiem Malik to mind the blue line with the likes of Luqman Arshad and Sadat Malik. A win combined with a Haya loss would curtain Shukr at second place. Can stalwart Yasir Hussain silence Ihsan?

Burning Questions?

Will Ihsan be able to prolong their unbeaten streak?

Who's Hot?

It might've been a mere goal but Salman Khalid is Ihsan's marquee defensman. 

Player To Watch:

Saleem Malik has no off switch. The determined forward has been a big arm for offensive production.