Fall Season - Week Three - September 29

8:00 PM- Emaan (1-1) vs Yaqeen (1-1)
Last week, it was assessed in the previews that it was hard to judge Emaan because up to that point they did not faced off against a full roster and were never really tested.  In Week 2, Emaan squared off against Sabr, in what was their “first” competitive game of the season (they played an undermanned Haya team in Week One).  With that said, Emaan gave us nothing to get excited for, losing last week 3-0.  They have an opportunity to change this perception tonight against Yaqeen, a team that is also a hard to pass a verdict on.  Just like Emaan, Yaqeen took advantage of a short-benched Haya team in Week Two, winning 4-1.  However, the score does not do justice on how close the game was up until the later part of the second half.  So the above assessment on Haya can apply again here for Yaqeen in that their win was against such an undermanned Haya that they were also never really tested.  Both teams did play against Haya, with Emaan looking as the more impressive team, so make of that what you wish.  Tonight should be a better gauge on the evaluation of each team.

9:00 PM- Haya (0-2) vs Shukr (1-1)
Haya went from sheer jubilation since winning the draft lottery (and getting the first pick) to their season unraveling into a nightmare.  Regardless who you draft, you get to be in it to win it and if you don’t show up, your team will be hard to win any game.  It was already known prior to the draft that, Salman Khalid and Waqar Khan would be unavailable for the first few weeks of the season.  However, despite missing almost all their top-end players, Haya showed great resiliency against Yaqeen last week, especially their goaltender, Kaunain Saiyed, who faced over 30 shots!  If players are missing again tonight he is going to be relied on again to bring that same magic.  However, there is only so much he can do and it will be up to Furqan Salam to step up for his team.  This would give an opportunity for Salam to emerge from "Boom-Boom" Khan’s shadow and show that he can be the main superstar to lead a team.  Their opponents are Shukr, who might boast the best first line in the league: Ibrahim Hindy, Dawood Ciombar, and Humza Ali.  This trio accounted for three of the four goals against Ikhlas last week en route to the victory.  Their goaltender took care of his business, as Khalid Mufti swatted away 25 of 26 shots he faced.  This team seems to be rounding into form after stumbling in Week One against Sabr.  This might spell trouble for Haya tonight as Shukr will be looking to catch up to Sabr in the standings or at the very least keep pace.

10:00 PM- Ikhlas (1-1) vs Sabr (2-0)
What happened to Ikhlas last week?  They went from scoring six goals against Yaqeen in Week One to shooting bricks in their 4-1 loss vs Shukr.  It was not from a lack of trying as they did put up 26 shots.  On some nights the ball just doesn’t go into the net, no matter how hard you try. They are going to need to keep grinding tonight and hope they are able to find their offense as their opponents have yet to fish the ball out of their own net this season.  Sabr, is first overall, but how they have won their first two games is a bit surprising.  Most outside observers thought Sabr would be an offensive juggernaut but in reality they have been stifling the opposition with their defense.  How long will Sabr’s goaltender, Fahad Mohammed’s shutout streak last?

Fall Season - Week Two - September 22nd

8:00 PM - Shukr vs Ikhlas
Shukr is coming off a tight 1-0 loss against Sabr and for all the fire power they have (Ibrahim Hindy, Dawood Ciombar, Mohammed Hamoud and Nauman Abassi) they did not look impressive in the offensive zone as they only managed eight shots the entire game.  Maybe another game under their belt will help this group better gel together and get the offense going.  Their goaltender, Khalid Mufti however did show last week to be in mid-season form with a 0.923 save percentage.  Their opponents in Week 2 is Ikhlas and boy was this squad impressive as they absolutely owned Yaqeen in the first game of the season with a 6-2 drubbing.  Them boys were flying out there!  Umair Awan with the hat-trick, Abdu Sharkaway went 1-2 on breakaways and Wakaas Khan needed a heat-check after collecting 5 points!  In fact they were so dominant that you didn’t even notice they were missing their top drafted player, Hany Soliman.  They also got it done on the other end by limiting Yaqeen to only five shots.  I suppose if you want to nit-pick Ikhlas’ Week 1 performance you would have to look at their goaltender, Ahmed Jamal who let in 2 goals that he surely felt he could do better on. Perhaps it was nerves for his I-Slam hockey debut and will get a pass.  Regardless, he should expect a better test tonight.


9:00 PM - Haya vs Yaqeen:
As mentioned above, Yaqeen got embarrassed in Week 1.  There is not much to say as they need to forget about it and move on.  The main thing we will see tonight from Yaqeen is their effort level after such a poor performance.  They are up against Haya, who also had a weak showing in game 1 (losing 5-1 vs Emaan).  Although, unlike Yaqeen, Haya were missing some notable players last week: Junaid Mohammad, Salman Khalid and Waqar Khan.  Word is Khan is back in town and you know he is thinking the right initials “W” & “K” is leading the league in points, just the wrong picture.


10:00 PM - Emaan vs Sabr
Both of these teams won their season opener.  Sabr edged Shukr 1-0 and Emaan took advantage of a short-benched Haya for a 5-1 win.   Although, getting a shutout in your first career game is remarkable, it is hard to fairly judge Fahad Mohammed (Sabr) as he only faced 8 shots.  But hey man, a goaltender can’t control how many shots he faces, but can absolutely control how many saves he makes.  His brother, Maz Haq, also making his I-Slam Hockey debut factored in on the game winning goal last week.  At the other end of the rink is Emaan. It is hard to assess their team because their win was against such a undermanned Haya that they were never really tested.  Tonight will be more competitive for Emaan, let’s see how they do.

Fall Season - Week One - September 15th

8:00 PM - Sabr vs Shukr

The season kicks off with Sabr and Shukr as the first to take the floor.  Sukr’s GM, Umar Mohammed was conservative during the draft and selecting familiar faces including three OGs in Nauman Abassi, Ibrahim Hindy, and Kashif Taqiuddin.   Together this trio is probably the greatest set of hockey minds this league will ever see assembled on one team.  Shukr was also able to grab last Fall Seasons’s Rookie of the Year who broke out on the I-Slam Hockey scene as a proficient goal-scoring machine, Dawood Ciombor.   However this time around, the opposition will be well aware of who he is which begs the question if it is too early in the developmental process to have him serve as your team’s primary scorer?  In net is Khalid Mufti, who consistently puts up solid numbers every season.

Sabr GM, Abdul-Wahab Mohammed took a different approach from his fellow colleagues and built his team with some outside the box thinking.  He went all in with Maaz Haq, selecting him 4th overall. Seems like Mohammed had some inside knowledge because the rest of the league has no idea who this guy is.  Thus, we are all intrigued in seeing how Haq performs in his league debut.  Another player making his debut is Tahir Maarouf; a little bit more is known about him as he has participated in several Salaam Cup tournaments.  He is an all-around player and easily has the potential of finishing in the Top Three in scoring, making him a steal for Sabr.  Oh by the way, Sabr was able to get the dynamic duo of Mehmed Rizvanovic and Aazar Zafar. Their goaltender Fahad Mohammed will also be making his league debut and it will be interesting to see how he stacks up to the rest of the cohort of goaltenders.


9:00 PM - Yaqeen vs Ikhlas

Yaqeen’s GM Arslan Mian is such a boss!  He was able to perform Hajj and draft his team from the comforts of Madina.  The last two seasons Mian’s strategy was to draft a goalie in the later rounds (Yusuf Kapoor & Kaunain Saiyed) and build a stronger team around them.  This time he altered the game plan and after selecting Farrukh Khan in round one, he took the first goaltender in the draft and selected Ahmad Mobin.  Goals might be harder to come by since defense and goaltending seem to be the focal point for Yaqeen.  With that said scoring goals will have to be done by committee with Saqib Khokhar, Rizwan Malik, Aamir Hanif, Usamah Rao and Arslan Mian all counted on to chip in.

Wakaas Khan, the GM for Ikhlas drafted his team from the cottage.  Some critics suggested this might have distracted him during the draft as while the team has some great players it seems to lack balance.  Rayhan Malik and Firasath Ali will likely take 2 spots on the back end which still leaves them with four spots to fill.  Perhaps Kamran Siddiqui fills one spot and maybe Wakaas’ brother, Sajid Khan another (although he is known to be adamant in the past as playing forward).  The critics might be a little bit harsh on Wakaas as he did pickup both Hany Soliman and Umair Awan which could very well be the best 1-2 punch this season. Also Atif Mian joins his Cambridge buddies; In 2015, he was two years away from being two years away, so perhaps 2017 is the year?  As well, goaltender Ahmed Jamal will be making his league debut tonight for Ikhlas.


10:00 PM - Emaan vs Haya:

Haya’s GM, Salman Khalid shocked the world last weekend by selecting Waqar Khan first overall (sarcasm).  Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few years, Khan usually leads the league in points and is one of the goal scoring leaders at the end of the regular season.  No matter what game plan the opposing team tries to slow him down he somehow finds a way to burn you (boom boom Waqar).  Although Samad Hamidi apparently knows how to handle him ;)  This is going to be an interesting year for him because instead of being part of a protected group as in prior seasons, he actually needs to take on a larger role (if that is even possible) as a result of being drafted first overall. Nadeem Faqiri who will probably reach new career highs in points this season as part of being Khan’s line mate.  This team will also have the calming presence of both Salman Khalid and Junaid Mohammed which will be especially helpful to the future stars of this league: Sahil Mohammed and Mustafa Shahbaz. Goaltender, Kaunain Saiyed will be looking to have a bounce back season this year.

Emaan’s GM, Luqman Arshad stated he was trying to build the best possible team during the draft and the Malik’s might have to be broken up (wink wink).  He did have to part ways with Rizwan Malik but he was able to select Saleem Malik and Sadat Malik.  Luqman Arshad and Farooq Sani is probably the best defensive pairing in the entire league.  For this team Idris Deen, Saajid Bhayat and Imran Lakhanpal are going to score majority of the goals.  He also selected the goaltender who spoiled his chance at a championship during the 2017 Spring Season, last season’s Goalie of the Year and Playoff MVP, Yusuf Kapoor.

Spring Season - Week Twelve - May 12th

Championship Night:

8:00pm: Pick-up

8:50pm: Awards Presentation

9:00pm: Emaan vs Sabr - Game Two

Well last week was an unexpected result as Emaan blew Sabr right of the rink - this was the third straight Emaan win against Sabr.  Emaan looked solid throughout the night and might have ripped the soul out of Sabr who had no answer for them, causing frustration to boil over and fighting amongst themselves.  It was a disaster all over as Emaan seemingly scored at will, putting up 6 goals on 11 shots.  Looked at another way, Ahmad Mobin had more goals go into his net than he saved.  It seemed like everyone on Emaan lit the lamp last week with Firasath Ali capping off the offense.  For three straight games Emaan has won on the scoreboard and might have very well broken Sabr mentally.  

For Emaan all they need is a tie and the I-Slam Cup will spend the summer in Cambridge.  Look for Emaan to try to put the final nail in the coffin early in Game Two and not let Sabr develop any sense of hope.  As for Sabr, they have a number of issues they need to correct.  The most important issue they need to address is that they must put their egos aside and deal with their internal team conflict.  If they can figure that out, then Sabr just needs to relax, breathe, take a step backwards and realize what happened in the past is done with.  All they need to do is be better than Emaan in Game Two and the championship will be in their hands.  

Going into Game One the prevailing opinion was that Sabr was the much better team, the polls that were done game Sabr the edge in every category, Better Offense, Better Defense, Better Goaltender and Better Team.  Their team is so deep that there were five different suggestions on which Sabr player would win Playoff MVP.  No doubt they had a bad night in Game One but that result does not matter now as they have every opportunity to win this.  With an unscientific poll when observers were asked they felt Sabr was still the better team and would show it in Game Two.

At the end of the night one team will rise, and one team fill fall… Does Emaan close it out today and bring back the championship to Cambridge?  How much fight does Sabr have left in them and will it be enough?  They have guaranteed the win and go into this game with their confidence seemingly intact so get ready for a great game!

Spring Season - Week Eleven - May 5th

Finals: Game One

8:00pm: Pick-up
Before the finals there is a pickup session. Open to former and current players. Please bring a dark and light jersey. $5/player.

9:00pm: Emaan vs Sabr
We are now down to two teams.  The best two teams all season long will now battle it out over two weeks to determine who gets to take home the I-Slam Cup.  Let’s rewind the tape and look at the evolution of both teams.  First up Emaan (aka TMT), after self-destructing and getting into penalty trouble in the fall semi-finals against Yaqeen, TMT made huge splashes in free agency, grabbing the 2017 Fall Best Defensemen, Salman Khalid and last season’s first overall pick Arif Bijabhai.  The remaining players of the protected list included Waqar Khan, Furqan Salam and Adeel Awan (now replaced by brother Umair Awan due to injury).  Arguably many felt that this was the strongest 5-man core and expected this team to get to the finals.  Throughout this journey, they faced many trials and tribulations with season ending injuries to both Abdu Sharkawy and Adeel Awan.  Also now, Zuhair Fancy is nursing an upper-body injury sustained in TMT’s semi-final win over Ihsan.

After exorcising their demands from the past year, with a convincing 4-0 win over the defending champions in the previous round, they now find themselves the final’s favourites versus Sabr, whom they defeated twice already in the regular season.

Sabr is the feel-good story for this season.  In the fall they were the last team to qualify for the playoffs.  Often, they used to get blown out of games before the start of the second half.  Many questioned why GMs Saleem Malik and Naiem Malik decided, despite these poor results, to retain almost the exact same roster.  Really the only significant change that was made was deciding to address their goaltending issues and draft Ahmad Mobin third overall.  This bold move was opposite to what Sabr did in the fall, electing to select a goalie with their last pick.  Give them credit!  Sabr has ranks number two in the league in stopping goals from entering their net (behind Emaan) but remarkably with the same group of guys from the fall is the most lethal offense.  So far, they have been able to solve every team but Emaan.  They can take comfort in the fact in their most recent encounter they were leading against Emaan at the end of the 1st half.

On paper, logic suggests Emaan will take this series.  However when it comes to playoff games, anything is possible, especially the finals which is a whole different environment.

With that said here is how you guys think the teams match up (as per the results of an online poll):
Better Offense: 55% Sabr; 45% Emaan
Better Defense: 86% Sabr; 14% Emaan
Better Goaltender: 66% Sabr; 34% Emaan
The Better Team: 52% Sabr; 48% Emaan
MVP will be: Waqar Khan (Emaan), Arif Bijabhai (Emaan), Umair Awan (Emaan), Dawood Ciombar (Sabr), Naiem Malik (Sabr), Ahmad Mobin (Sabr), Akib Malik (Sabr), Ali Malik (Sabr)

Other Comments:
“Defense wins championships!  Although Doc, JJ and the Fancy/Hamidi ensemble is a solid defensive corps for green, the M&Ms (Mobin and Malik's) are a daunting challenge in a one game eliminator.  My money is on Mobin getting hot and stoning the green offense on his way to a repeat championship.”

“TMT! TMT! TMT!”

“Emaan has speed for longer duration of the game while the Malik's may not last the whole game.”

Spring Season - Week Ten - April 28th

Playoffs: Round One

8:00pm: Ihsan vs Haya - Wildcard Game

After their stunning lost against Yaqeen last week, Ihsan must do things the hard way in their defense of their championship as they face Haya in the wildcard game.  During the regular season the teams split the season series with each team winning one game.  Ihsan won the first game 3-1 and Haya won the second game 5-1.  From all the teams that qualified for the playoffs these two teams have the lowest offensive production, each only scoring 18 goals.  Yousuf Soliman leads the charge for Ihsan with 5 goals and 5 assists.  The duo of Aazar Zafar and Mehmed Rizvanovic are the bus-drivers for Haya with 6 points each.  Also among the playoff teams these two squads were the worst in keeping the ball out of their net.  Ihsan gave up 26 goals and Haya right behind them with 28 goals. It is hard to predict how this game will go as both teams have been inconsistent throughout the season.  That said, both squads have strong goalies and players who can take over the game - the question is will anyone step up and do that tonight?

An hour after the conclusion of this game, the winner will enter the rink with the league’s top team during the regular season, Emaan.     

9:00pm: Sabr vs Taqwa - Semi-Finals

One of these teams will be heading to the 2017 Spring Finals.  These teams split the season series one game each.  In the first meeting Taqwa won 3-1.  However, the week after, Sabr outclassed Taqwa 6-1.  No one expected either of these teams to be here.  Sabr has made great strides from the Fall.  They have five players that finished in the top ten in scoring: Luqman Arshad (9 points), Saleem Malik (9 points), Ali Malik (10 points), Akib Malik (12 points) and the league’s top goal scorer, Dawood Ciombar (10 goals).  Taqwa are the new kids on the block and at the start of the season were perceived to be one of the weaker teams.  Their main offense weapons are Farooq Sani (7 points), Abu Patel (7 points), Yasser Habib (9 points) and of course the other league’s top goal scorer Adil Patel (17 points).  On paper Sabr has the edge in offense, defense and in goaltending, and come into this match-up as heavy favorites.  However, in a one game elimination things might come down to the head to head match-up of the league’s best goal scorers, Ciombar vs Patel.   

              

10:00pm: Haya/Ihsan vs Emaan - Semi-Finals

Emaan awaits the winner of the 8pm wildcard game.  Emaan (aka TMT) won both games against Haya whereas they haven’t been able to beat Ihsan in the past two seasons.  So it’s obvious who they would rather face.  There is a lot of interesting story lines for both potential opponents.  If they end up facing Haya, Asad Darr has another opportunity to re-kindle some magic from 2014 and slay TMT once more.  Let’s not forget Atif Mian’s motivation of not being redrafted back onto Emaan as he’d be more than happy to send TMT fishing back in Cambridge.  If Emaan ends up facing Ihsan, well I guess to be the man you got to beat the man.  If this scenario does play out then the question becomes can TMT man up against their rivals?

Spring Season - Week Nine - April 21st

8:00pm: Emaan vs Sabr

In most instances the main event happens at the very end of the night after all the undercard fights - but not tonight!  We get right into it with the two heavyweights all season long squaring up against each other.  Boxing out of the left corner is Sabr, a team that most overlooked given their dismal results in the fall season.  The evolution from the Malik Clan (Sabr) has been amazing to witness.  With the emergence of Dawood Ciombar leading the league in goals, along with Akib Malik and Luqman Arshad facilitating the offense, as well as getting contributions from Saleem Malik, Ali Malik and Rizwan Malik has help to make this team the most lethal on the offensive end.  At the same time, Sabr who opposing forwards feasted on in the fall has also been the best team all season long in defending their house, only conceding 11 goals so far.  Tonight, with first place on the line, they get an opportunity to show the rest of the league where Sabr belongs.  Malik means King…Kings sit on thrones above everyone else…So does Sabr claim the throne tonight?

Their opponents, boxing out of the right corner is Emaan, also known as TMT.  TMT is often a sure bet to be the highest scoring team every season with box-office names such as, Arif Bijabhai, Umair Awan, Furqan Salam and finally current points leader Waqar Khan.  However as mentioned above, Sabr ranks number one in that category.  It seems though this version of TMT has found a balance between putting the ball into the net and keeping the ball out of their net.  They have only surrendered 12 goals (again ranked behind Sabr).  A lot of credit here has to go to Salman Khalid, Zuhair Fancy and Firasath Ali who were forced into playing a greater role with the season ending injury to Adeel Awan.  Lost in all of this is the performance of Yusuf Kapoor, who often feels slighted on how people perceive his abilities.  Like Amir Khan searching for a big money fight, tonight is an opportunity for Kapoor to respond to his critics.  Despite all of these big names, go figure it was Rookie, Ibrahim Khan that scored the game winner in the first meeting between these two teams. Now, with greater stakes the stage is set for anyone willing to seize the moment.

9:00pm: Yaqeen vs Ihsan

This season was a nightmare for Yaqeen as they could never get anything going.  After losing to Haya last week they find themselves eliminated from the playoffs, this game for Yaqeen is about pride… no one wants to have the record for the least number of wins in a season - in this case they are still looking for win number one.  They are up against the defending champions who come in needing a big night to avoid playing the wildcard game next week against Haya.  It is expected that Ihsan should have the Soliman brothers and their starting goaltender, Zaid Majoo available tonight.  This is the first of two games Ihsan will be playing.  On paper, this seems like an easy two points Ihsan can bank.  However, keep in mind Yaqeen has nothing to lose and in fact they have a chance to exact some revenge on the team that beat them in last season’s finals.

10:00pm: Haya vs Taqwa

After securing the final playoff spot against Yaqeen last week, Haya can rest easy tonight.  Yet, this game might be a preview of their wildcard opponents.  So it might be more beneficial for them to try to study and dissect Taqwa’s style of play.  Also Haya can use this game to help integrate recent waiver pickup Asaad Darr into their offense.  He did score a clutch goal that got them to the playoffs, so having him become more familiar with his line-mates is a great return on investment with playoffs happening next week.  From Taqwa’s perspective they are trying to lock up 3rd overall and in the process avoid having to play the wildcard game.  At the same time Adil Patel has two games (his team plays a double header) to take over Dawood Ciombar as the league’s top goal scorer.

11:00pm: Ihsan vs Taqwa

For both teams this will be their second game of the night and most likely this game will determine who will have to play in the wildcard game next week against Haya.  In their first meeting, Ihsan won by a 5-2 final score.  In that game, Ihsan was dominant and the outcome was never in doubt. Yousuf Sowdagar and Yousuf Soliman did the most damage that night.  Perhaps if Taqwa has more people show up (they were short benched in their first meeting) then expect to see more of a contest.  As well, remember Adil Patel has the extra motivation to see if he can capture the goal scorer award.