Week Ten - November 21st

- The Tier-2 Trade deadline is this week but with many trades already having taken place earlier in the season there isn't much activity expected. 

- Two weeks ago Sabr was out of the playoffs but was not in a dire situation, fast-forward to today and strangely they still control their own fate but have little margin for error.  First up is this week against Ihsan where they need at least a point leading to their regular season finale against Emaan which will be a must win game.

- Sabr has baffled observers as the last two weeks have seen them collapse in the final minutes in both games.  Two weeks ago Emaan scored three goals in the final 1:40 turning a 3-1 lead into a 4-3 loss for Sabr.  This past week Sabr held a 1-0 lead but surrendered two goals in the final 57 seconds.  It is hard to imagine this championship veteran team not being able to hold a lead but all the injuries they have suffered have clearly taken their toll.

- We mentioned Ali Wadee and his return to I-Slam Basketball and this past weekend he and Omar Sabri lined up together and showed some great chemistry that Ihsan will hope will transfer to hockey as well.

- Unsurprisingly considering all the offensive talent in their line-up, Taqwa has three of the top five scorers in Tier-1 including Sami Choudhry and Shaukat Khan taking the top two spots.  Sajjid Ayubi has a game in hand over both and with all three players facing off in the regular season finale it will be interesting to see who will finish at the top when the season is done.

- Despite having two games left to play, Ihsan has already clinched first place in Tier-1, it has been season of redemption for the Ihsan GM group after missing the playoffs last season.  To their credit they drafted a well balanced team and the risks that they took with younger players like Omar Husain and Yusuf Ingar have worked out.  Ali Khwaja has also been a rock in net, leading the league in Wins, Goals Against Average, Save Percentage and Shut-outs – basically every category that matters. 

- Taqwa stamped their ticket to the playoffs with their comeback win over Sabr last week, after having lost in the finals last season with an epic collapse of their own, (blowing a 3-0 and later a 4-2 lead) it was sweet redemption to break the hearts of Sabr with two goals in the final 57 seconds to win 2-1.

- For the first time in a while all Tier-2 Teams will be in action this week, some good games are on the docket but the big head-to-head match-ups are later in the season.

- It was billed as a must win game for both teams but it was Ridha who took it as they downed Yaqeen 4-2 last week, Talib Contractor had two goals in his debut and gave Ridha the jump they have been missing most of the season.

- Yaqeen came out of that loss to Ridha hurting but with a chance to still make the playoffs but cannot afford to keep dropping games; that said they were missing a number of players last week that did not help their effort against Ridha in a big game

- Speaking of Ridha, many noticed the extra jump in the game of Farooq Sani last week.  While it was the league's worst kept secret that Sani was desperate to play with his friend Talib Contractor, many were unsure how the two would play together but the results were clear after one game - Contractor with two goals and Sani with a goal and an assist which were his first points of the season.  An observer commented that the trade would turn around the season for Sani and called Ridha's deal with Shukr simply as "How Sani Got His Groove Back"

- Ikhlas has been hot and cold this season, literally as they were hot for their first three games and now cold as they are winless in their last three.  They put up eleven goals in the first three games and five goals in their last three so their offense needs to step it up.

- Haya faces Shukr this week in a game where Shukr will want to show that their late collapse was not a pattern against the top teams in the league.  Haya will reportedly be playing without Arif Khan, Aazar Zafar, Zahid Merchant, Fuzail Thakur and Coach K.  All of them a big loss in any game.  The good news for Haya is that Waseem "The Dream" Bangash will still be there, he reportedly rearranged his travel plans to attend the game.  Cynics may say it is because he wants to win the Scoring Title along with Goal Title but under Coach K, Waseem seemingly has evolved into a leader who wants team to do well.

- Mujeeb Syed turned heads in Shukr's game against Ikhlas, Shukr brass insisted he had to be part of the Contractor deal and it is clear why.  He was Shukr's best forward last week using his speed and tenacity to create chances for his team.  Look for him to make his mark in this week's game against Haya, he'll also be looking to show up Haya's Rayhan Taqiuddin who flattened him when these teams met two weeks ago - Taqiuddin was defending Bangash from Syed's physical play in that game. 

- Ridha needs more production from their 2nd line, a player like Shoaib Bhatti needs to give them some scoring punch and considering he was the Most Improved Player a couple of seasons ago and is tied for the record of most goals in a game with four, he should be doing better than just a goal in five games this season.