Week Eleven - December 18th - Playoffs

- The final week of the regular season gave us some highlights and cleared up the final playoff picture.

• Shukr had already clinched first but their win last week saw them finish the regular season undefeated.  An impressive accomplishment for them to enjoy as they now get a first round bye for the playoffs.
• Ikhlas lost their game to Ihsan but still managed to cling onto second place by virtue of Haya losing, they get a first round bye where they will need to figure out what is happening for this talented team that has lost their last three games.
• Haya lost to Shukr so lost their chance to jump into second place with the recent struggles from Ikhlas, the benefit of the tie-breaker saw them hold onto third place and gets them the match-up they wanted against Sabr
• Emaan finished the season strong with a three game winning streak but it wasn’t enough to overcome their poor start to the season and by virtue of the tie breaker they end in fourth.
• Ihsan ended the season with a gritty win over Ikhlas to ensure they didn’t risk dropping into last.
• Sabr suffered a 5-0 loss but considering they had only one sub the players that did show up demonstrated a lot of heart to keep this game as close as they did.

- Ikhlas has struggled mightily down the stretch and almost suffered a catastrophic loss as near the end of their finale against Ihsan, had Waqar Khan go awkwardly into the net and take a knock to his knee.  Khan stayed down for a while with both teams showing concern for his status as he seemed in significant pain.  After a quick check from one of the doctors watching he was helped off the floor and after missing a few shifts came out for the final minute with his team desperate to break their losing streak.  Khan is admired as a tenacious player by all, but his team may have been better served letting him sit the rest of the game and avoid a more serious injury.

- Sabr has faced many obstacles this season with injuries and absences and it happened again in their finale as they had only one sub for their game but despite this put up a great effort with Ahmad Hathout never stepping off the floor.  Zaid Majoo made some great saves in the first half to keep it a 1-0 game.

- Shukr has had a great season, they are solid across their lineup and have benefited from some great seasons from key players, once such breakout season was from Atif Mian.  Mian has long been viewed as a raw talent and this season he put together a great season.  He finished third in scoring this season and was just three points away from winning the scoring title.  His blend of speed and agility combined with a growing touch around the net has seen him blossom into a constant scoring threat.

- Ahmad Hathout won the scoring title despite being shutout against Emaan, breaking his scoring streak.  He had many chances but was shut down each time by Sadiq Rehman who was more than equal to the task.  Hathout bested rival Waqar Khan who fell just a point behind Hathout.

- Ihsan goes into their playoff game hoping to have a full lineup, reports indicate that Rayhan Malik has been battling a bug and Ihsan will need his fore check to set the tone in their game against Emaan.

- Fahad Mallik was shut out once again as his terrible season continues.  It's a testemant to the depth of Shukr that they have been able to put together such a strong regular season while getting nothing from their GM.  Co-GM Naeem Akhtar has circulated this image in hope of finding Mallik.

- Umair Ashraf of Ikhlas was excited to have his team retain a top two seed, saying that he has opening night tickets for the new Star Wars movie - he stated that he has been working on his Chewbacca costume for a while in anticipation of the new movie.

Week Ten - December 11th

- Week Ten was about empty nets, absent players and upsets as the playoff picture starts to get a bit clearer.

- First the empty nets, despite scrambling to get a last minute fill in goalie Ihsan went into this game with an empty net and paid a heavy price losing by a 9-2 score.  They reportedly thought that they had locked up Sheraz Mahmood to fill in but he never confirmed and Ihsan was left to scramble against top ranked Shukr who showed no mercy as they ran up the score, potting four goals in less than three minutes near the end of first half and then another two goals within the first two minutes of the second half to drive the point home.

- Absent players, forgetting Ihsan's adventures with an empty net, Haya came into a key game with Emaan missing goalie Rizwan Ali, forward Salman Syed and defenceman Salman Khalid and Samad Hamidi.  The result was Nadeem Qureshi having to log more minutes on defense to start the game and it wasn't pretty for the veteran.  Emaan scored three goals in just over two minutes early in the first half with the third goal being a shorthanded shot from the blueline that a Haya defenseman deflected in-front of the net trying to block it which demoralized the squad.

- Finally upsets, Ikhlas came into their game as the presumed favourite to win, especially considering how Sabr has struggled this season but someone forgot to tell them as the team that has been in last from the beginning of the season came up with big plays when they needed it and came away with a 3-2 upset win.

- Haya had designs on jumping into second place but while last weeks loss to Emaan certainly hurt, it did not close the door as a Haya win over Shukr in Week Ten combined with an Ikhlas loss or tie to Ihsan would see Haya take the second seed.

- Ihsan has struggled as of late, currently mired in a five-game win less streak which has seen them plummet to fifth and conceivably could even drop into last if they lose their finale to Ikhlas while Sabr wins their last game to take fifth.  With all of the skilled offensive players it is a surprise to see Ihsan with the least goals scored this season - pundits are whispering that the magic touch of Coach K may be gone as he has not been able to get much going for his team this year.  Combined with rumours of their goalie being injured put this team in a precarious position heading into the playoffs.

- The Waqar Khan vs Ahmad Hathout game within a game from the Sabr vs Ikhlas match-up gave many fans what they were hoping for.  Hathout finished with a goal and an assist while Khan was limited to an assist.  The net result has Hathout still leading the league in Points and Assists while tied for goals with Aazar Zafar from Shukr who jumped up with his hat-trick on an empty net.  It should be noted that Hathout scored his goal on an empty netter which became the game winner when Farrukh Khan ripped a laser shot from the point with one second left in the game.  Going into the final week it will be interesting to see if Hathout can pad his lead to seal his second straight scoring title while Khan faces Ihsan and his former mentor in Coach K who believes the can shut the power-forward down.

- Sabr surprisingly has the second best offense in the league (mainly carried by Ahmad Hathout) but it is their league worst goals allowed that has been their downfall.  With the players they have this stat is surprising but a combination of players being played out of position and absences have been the source of the problem.

- There is some place to move in the standings are only two teams firmly locked in their place, here is a breakdown of the teams (in order of current standings):

• Shukr: They have locked up first place and their finale is a matter of pride as they look to finish the season undefeated
• Ikhlas: A win/tie or a Haya loss will see them clinch the second seed, they have struggled as of late but face struggling Ihsan in their finale
• Haya: A win combined with a loss by Ikhlas will see Haya leapfrog into second place.  The must rue their loss in Week Nine where a win would have put them in the drivers seat for a top-two finish.  They face first place Shukr in the finale where they will want to prove that they can win as these teams may meet in the playoffs.
• Emaan: Their win last week locked up the fourth seed, because of the tie-breaker rules, even if they win in Week 10 and Haya lose giving the teams 10 points each, Haya has the advantage with more wins and would remain in third while an Emaan loss and Ihsan win would see Emaan hold onto third as they own the head to head tie-breaker.
• Ihsan: A win or a tie against Ikhlas would give them the fifth seed, a loss combined with a Sabr win would see Ihsan drop to sixth.
• Sabr: A win combined with Ihsan loss would have them jump into fifth, an unimaginable thought a couple of weeks ago considering their struggles.  

- The above was not confirmed with the guru of Standings and Tie-Breakers, Ahmad Ibrahim but we are confident in its accuracy.

- The final week will have some excitement as each game can impact the final standings.

Week Nine - December 4th

- Waqar Khan was the story in Week Eight, some good and some bad in a crushing loss to Haya.  Khan was all over the floor playing any and every position his team needed him to, lining up on the point for the power play, killing penalties as a forward - including playing goalie while covering the empty net but more on that later.  Khan’s hustle and forecheck are well known, to teammates and opponents and last game it was his teammates that needed to be on the alert.  A near catastrophe for Ikhlas occurred when Farooq Sani was nearly run over by Khan as both went to collect a loose ball.  Sani seemed to recognize the “search and destroy” look in the eyes of Khan and was forced to do a looping spin jump to get out of the way.  Since losing Zahid Merchant Ikhlas has seemed a bit thin offensively from the blue line so losing Sani would have been a disaster.

- In the same game, Ahmad Ibrahim got caught with an accidental high stick but thankfully the man with more nicknames (“Habibi”, “The Mountain”, “Dirtiest Player in I-Slam”) than goals this season was fine and remained in the game.  A player safety reminder for players that accidents happen so best to have equipment such as a visor to protect you.

- Umair Ashraf has been a frequent source for material in this column and he seems fine with that.  Although he is now trying to change the narrative from his search for a wife to a search for men - specifically for men who are proficient in the world of IT as Ashraf is employed as a recruiter.  So for any guys out there looking for a dinner date, have a chat with Ashraf and let him try to recruit you.

- While Hany Soliman has played well this season, some expected more from the power forward considering he was being united on a line with brothers Osama Soliman and Yousuf Soliman (with Walied Soliman ready to fill in as well).  The trio have been solid but not spectacular, with a fan putting together this video evidence of a penalty shot for Hany Soliman from last years playoffs and last week.

The “evidence” of his struggles as it were are that he no longer sports his picnic table style shorts, his trademark going back many seasons.

- Going back to Waqar Khan, he has been in a struggle to surpass the offensive numbers from Ahmad Hathout of Sabr this season, trailing Hathout in Goals, Assists and Points.  In the final minutes of the Ikhlas vs Haya game, Ikhlas pulled their goalie for the extra forward and left Khan as the safety to prevent an empty net goal.  Umar Muhammad had his first chance at the empty net shut down but just 30 seconds later Salman Khalid threaded a beautiful lob pass over all of Ikhlas to Muhammad (who seemed to be playing a bit too far away from his own net while protecting the lead).  Khan pursued Muhammad as he was about to take a shot at the empty net and his diving defensive play tripped Muhammad and a goal was awarded.  Hathout supporters would later ask if this own goal would count against Khan and have one of his goals subtracted - it will not.

- Haya has made an incredible run as of late having won four in a row and with last weeks win over Ikhlas are now just a point out of second place.  Haya believe that they have a shot at first place which is actually possible as they play Shukr in their last game so if Haya defeats Emaan this week while Shukr lose to Ihsan and that last game could be for first place.

- Shukr are still undefeated for the season but may be concerned as they have tied their last two games, two weeks ago they fought back to tie Emaan and last week they blew a lead as Ihsan scored with just two seconds left as Arsalan Mian snapped in the equalizer.  Shukr face Ihsan again this week and hope to show that last weeks collapse was an aberration rather than a sign of things to come as the playoffs approach.

- Shukr should be concerned about the play of Fahad Mallik who continues to struggle with no points this season.  We’ll give him one last week before we put his face on the milk carton but there are reports that his team is considering sending him on a conditioning stint to get him going.

- As the season winds down with just two games left for all teams in the regular season all games are key but this week will have great impact on the standings as Haya looks to vault into the top two while Shukr hopes to clinch first place and Ikhlas just hopes to fend of Haya and hold onto second.

- All the team match-ups aside, many will be watching Ikhlas vs Sabr for another reason as it pits Waqar Khan and Ahmad Hathout in a head to head meeting which may determine who wins the scoring title this year.  Hathout beat out Khan in the Spring Season, something which we know still burns for Khan so this is his chance to rectify that.

Week Eight - November 20th

- With the trade deadline now passed and rosters frozen, many players on Ikhlas are breathing a bit easier knowing that GM Ahmad Ibrahim won’t be able to make any more deals.  He was by far the most active GM this season in working the phone lines.

- Another week and the same problems for Emaan and Sabr contributed to their losses.  For Emaan another short bench while for Sabr it was being forced to put in a back-up goalie - in this case Umer Buksh who took one for the team and filled in admirably.

- Shukr got a bit of a scare falling behind to Emaan 3-1 last week but stuck with the game plan and managed to grind out a 3-3 tie to keep them alone in first place and undefeated for the season.

- Shukr was without Sulayman Azmat and Salman Alvi but have done a great job in getting production from all players, the opening goal was put in by Mohamed Sattaur who has scored in back to back games.  As for Alvi, the veteran has been out of the lineup with an injury to his wrist since the start of the season and as he nears a return will be a great boost for an already deep team.

- The challenges Ihsan has had with staying out of the penalty box this season (well really only Rayhan Malik) were noted last week and the team decided to try him on forward - which seemed to pay off where his hustle helped to create chances on the forecheck and perhaps more importantly he didn’t hurt the team with careless penalties.

- Back to Shukr for a moment, as great as the team has been performing it has to be a concern that they are getting nothing from Fahad Mallik as he still has yet to register a point.  We’ll give him another week before his face appears on the milk carton that Furqan Salam made famous.

- Haya is hoping for some good news on the health front as goalie Rizwan Ali is currently out after a collision a couple of weeks ago.  We all hope for a speedy recovery for the veteran goalie who will be counted on by Haya to backstop them for a championship run.

- Ahmad Hathout of Sabr potted a pair of goals in a losing effort last week and while his team may be in last place with only one win, Hathout has been strong this season thus far and leads the league in Points, Goals and Assists.  In each category he is just ahead of “frenemy” Waqar Khan.  There has been some grumbling that Hathout seems to always have great games against weak opponents and empty nets but those comments are sounding more like sour grapes.  Hathout has a point in all seven games this season for 15 points in total while being the only consistent source of offense for his team.

- Umair Ashraf of Ikhlas sought to clarify something from the recent Spring Season, the issue in question was his comments during the celebrations for winning the championship.  News and Rumours from that season noted the following comment, “During celebrations after the game, Umair Ashraf can clearly be heard proclaiming that with the win he is now ready for marriage (don’t believe me - click here).”  Ashraf is now stating that his comment was misconstrued and his full statement as he was hugging Waqar Khan was “Waqar you are now ready to get married” the video does not seem to fully support that claim so feel free to view it and judge for yourself.  That said he is single so if you know someone…

- Despite being replaced, Zahid Merchant showed up to coach his former team Ikhlas.  No word if he wants to be referred to as “Coach Z” going forward but he surely had a positive influence in his teams win last week as they keep in the hunt to take first place.

Week Seven - November 13th

- "Don't call it a comeback, I been here for years!” well maybe not but due to the demand of a few current players along with Amir Multani who while he isn't playing this year indicated that he missed reading about himself on a weekly basis.

- The scoring leaders have the usual suspects with Ahmad Hathout and Waqar Khan but some were surprised to see Atif Mian there in 3rd.  Mian has come a long way since his debut in the league.  Well known for his speed and offensive potential, Mian has put things together this season in a big way averaging two points per game and is currently tied for the league lead in goals.

- Ihsan has had plenty of struggles this season, primarily with attendance but it is still a surprise to see them struggle considering the team has Coach K behind the bench.  In a way it may be Coach K who is at fault as he put this team together and after he claimed successes with building up Waseem Bangash and Waqar Khan over the past two seasons he may have bitten off more than he could chew with the selection of Rayhan Malik.  Malik has the tools to be an impact player but not the discipline.  Coach K seemed to think he could turn Malik into an all-around star but so far things have not worked out.

- Ikhlas was forced to replace Zahid Merchant and though the waiver process ended up with Firasath Ali, a rugged defenseman who will give them another experienced player on the blue line although he is not as offensively gifted as Merchant.  Emaan also fits into this picture as they nabbed Zuhair Fancy off the waiver wire in perhaps a risky gamble, hoping the aging defenseman has something left to help them turn things around - the experts don't see that happening but anything is possible.

- A common challenge for the teams in the bottom half of the standings has been attendance, missing key players and for more times this season than ever before missing the goalie.  There have been a pair of instances where another player was forced to step in to play goalie for the first time (Umer Buksh for Sabr and Baseer Khan for Emaan) or the team just went with an empty net the entire game.

- Yasser Malik is trying his hand at becoming a two-sport star in I-Slam, playing in both Hockey and Basketball currently and in an interesting factoid, playing on Team Ikhlas in both leagues.

- With just four games left the race to the playoffs is heating up, Shukr and Ikhlas and both still vying for first place but both are in great shape for a top-two finish leaving the rest to grind it out for a better position going into the playoffs.

Week Fifteen - Spring Season Wrap-Up

- Game Two was winner take all and Emaan came up with some great individual performances and some luck to take the title.  Emaan roared out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to their top line and while Ihsan made it interesting with an early goal in the second period it was a Waqar Khan empty netter that iced the game for a 3-1 final score.

- But before the game was played an important reminder about the larger goal as both teams prayed together, opponents on the floor but brothers before, during and after the game.

Here are your 2015 Spring Season Champions, Emaan:

- The Video Recap for Game Two is up and can be viewed here.

- It was no secret who the playoff MVP was going to be if Emaan won and it came to pass as Waqar Khan earned the honours with a strong playoff showing with 10 points (five goals and five assists) in four games.  He scored when his team needed to and shut down opposing players while out there while leading his team as Captain.  Khan also picked up the Regular Season MVP, finishing with 18 points (8 goals and 10 assists) in 10 games.

- Ahmad Hathout of Emaan was also in the running for both awards that Waqar Khan won, while Hathout was gracious during the presentation, he later released his frustration with this epic yell.

- During celebrations after the game, Umair Ashraf can clearly be heard proclaiming that with the win he is now ready for marriage (don’t believe me - click here).  His statement also adds a new layer to those that witnessed his last shift of the game where he danced humming “Put a Ring on it” and pointed to his finger - many assumed he was celebrating a championship ring (even though he received a medal) but he was likely letting everyone know he was looking forward to his next challenge and is on the market.

- He described himself as a stabilising force all season for Emaan and with a championship it is hard to argue but Coach K picks up his first championship ring in his third trip to the finals (twice as a player and once as a coach).

- Some controversy during the Medal Presentation as with the exception of three players, the rest of Ihsan left the floor as this video shows  - with some commenting that it seemed fitting that a team in Red Jerseys would leave the floor rather than watch their opponents celebrate as Russia did recently in the World Hockey Championships.  In this case it seemed to be a misunderstanding and Ihsan had their full team return to the floor to participate in the trophy presentation.

- During the same Medal Presentation there was a touching moment as Furqan Salam insisted that he be allowed to put the medal around Waqar Khan.  This was the first championship for Salam who sobbed as he showed respect to Khan who finally got him a ‘chip.

- Emaan also got a strong performance from Sadiq Rehman in the playoffs who had a GAA of 2.00 and in the final game made some spectacular saves to hold his teams lead.  Rehman also got some help from the post as Ihsan hit the post or crossbar a total of five times in the game - a mind boggling statistic which shows how close this series could have gone the other way.

- One of the story lines of the finals was the “I Quit” retirement challenge between Nadeem Qureshi and Kashif Taqiuddin with the latter winning the title and forcing the former to hang it up.  Qureshi had an awkward moment in the post game ceremonies waving goodbye to players that did not seem to recognise that this was his swan song and then running around an empty arena.  Things only got more awkward when Rayhan Taqiuddin came out of the stands to sing “End of the Road” to Qureshi as he walked off the floor.  In the post game press conference, Qureshi stated that he never shook hands on the deal and would be discussing the future of his career with his family in the off-season; that said he still seemed stunned with the loss and said after defeating Shoaib Bhatti in a retirement game last year he never thought it would happen to him.

- When the playoffs finish teams tend to disclose injuries that players have been playing through, Ihsan noted that Hany Soliman still has discomfort with his injured ankle and his loss in the final game was a huge blow to his team.  Emaan lost Abdu Sharkawy for the final game with a dislocated jaw and concussion after colliding with Nauman Abbasi in Game One, a loss that Waqar Khan was able to offset with his strong play at Centre.  Emaan also reported that Furqan Salam was playing hurt but was unclear as to what his injury was as they initially reported it as a conditioning problem then indicated that he pulled a muscle trying to lift at the gym.

- For all of the success that Waqar Khan had this season, Kashif “Coach K” Taqiuddin stepped in to take some of the credit as he seemed to be channelling his inner “Skip Bayless” when he claimed that he called out Khan towards the middle of the season to step up which resulted in his MVP season.  A dubious claim considering Khan was leading the league in scoring at the halfway mark but anything is possible.  Taqiuddin is reportedly working on an autobiography titled, “The long road from Behar to the Championship"

- Emaan went into the final game missing players and needed to make adjustments, the absence of Wahhaj Salam (who was reportedly up north attending an Arts & Craft camp) was big but despite being short on the blue line Emaan refused to move Bilal Perviaz back.  It isn’t clear whether it was because there was a lack of confidence in Pervaiz on D or they felt that his three goals on forward during the regular season was too good to pass up.

- For all of the praise for Emaan, it is amazing to consider that they did not lock in a playoff spot until the season finale and even then it was by the skin of their teeth as they barely fended off Sabr in a game that ended as a 3-3 tie.  A loss would have seen Emaan eliminated and Sabr in so something to keep the Emaan players humble.

The final bit of business is the 2015 Spring Season Awards, the nominees were announced previously and here are the winners:
Scoring Champion - Ahmad Hathout
Goal Scoring Champion - Waqar Khan
Regular Season MVP - Waqar Khan
Brotherhood - Ahmad Ibrahim
Best Defenseman - Naeem Akhtar
Best Defensive Forward - Ibrahim Hindy
Best Goalie - Yusuf Kapoor
GM of the Year - Emaan (Waqar Khan, Furqan Salam, Jibran Salam, Arif Bijabhai, Bilal Pervaiz)
Playoff MVP - Waqar Khan

Congratulations again to Emaan and thank you to everyone who participated this season.
InshAllah we will see everyone back for the fall season so stay tuned for registration details in August/September.

Week Fourteen - June 5th - Spring Finals

- Game One is in the books and it ended a wash as neither side has an advantage going into Game Two.  The first period was scoreless and the four goals scored in the second resulted in a 2-2 tie.

- There were standout performances from a few players, Ihsan goalie Abu Mamooji made some big saves throughout the game to keep his team in it including some spectacular saves in the final minutes to preserve the tie.  The captains for both squads also had a notable performance as Ahmad Hathout put up a pair of goals while Waqar Khan was a force throughout and salvaged a tie for Emaan with his goal.

- Ahmad Hathout wanted a strong performance to rebut the "Martin Gelinas" comparisons of his game made by members of Emaan, it was never clear if the comment was meant as a compliment or not - we suspect not...

- Both teams had their full squads for this one as Salman Khalid (travel) and Nauman Abbasi (AWOL) were back and for Emaan they made sure to give Bilal Pervaiz a wake up call hours before game time to ensure his beauty sleep did not run too late as it did during the Semi-Finals.

- Pregame, there was an interesting moment between Kashif Taqiuddin of Emaan and Nadeem Qureshi of Ihsan, both are in the twilight of their careers and the longtime friends have discussed turning the finals into an "I Quit" match.  Some caution for Taqiuddin as Qureshi had a similar arrangement with Shoaib Bhatti last fall season in which he prevailed.  Qureshi has talked this season of hoping for a sendoff like this one when he finally does retire and take one last lap around the arena.

- Back to Hathout for a moment, he has also been criticized for using a junior sized stick (or child stick as Emaan put it).  It is not clear if this shorter stick give him an advantage but considering all the time he has put into the gym it seems strange that he would be trying to play with as light equipment as possible.

- Speaking of the gym, Furqan Salam was reportedly upset with the gym photo published last week with teammates showing the results of their workouts - or in his case lack of results.  Salam has indicated that he will be skipping all post-game media events in protest.

- Waqar Khan seemed exhausted at the end of the game and actually had to skip a shift, the result of having to penalty kill a long period of time after some undisciplined penalties from his team.

- Emaan was clearly feeling down after the game and stated that they were the better team and allowed Ihsan to escape with a tie.

- Coach K is reportedly preparing a speech to give to his team in the hopes of inspiring them to win the championship, he knows that he is just a win away from his first championship and is desperate to get it.  He talked again of how he has worked to bring his schemes to Emaan and the success they have had to get the team to the finals.

- The Spring Season awards will be presented tonight after the finals, but a pair of winners have already been determined based upon the final regular season statistics.
Scoring Champion is Ahmad Hathout who put up 20 points in 10 games.
Goal Scoring Champion is Waqar Khan who scored 8 goals in 10 games.

Here are the rest of the Nominees:

Regular Season MVP Nominees:
Ahmad Hathout - Ihsan
Naeem Akhtar - Haya
Shuaib Hussein - Shukr
Waqar Khan - Emaan

Brotherhood Award Nominees:
Ahmad Ibrahim - Sabr
Farooq Sani - Ihsan
Rizwan Malik - Haya
Saqib Khokhar - Ikhlas

Best Defenseman Nominees:
Arssal Shahabuddin - Shukr
Naeem Akhtar - Haya
Salman Khalid - Ihsan

Best Defensive Forward Nominees:
Akib Malik - Haya
Ibrahim Hindy - Shukr
Waqar Khan - Emaan

Best Goalie Nominees:
Khalid Mufti - Shukr
Yusuf Kapoor - Haya
Zayd Agjee - Sabr

Best GM Nominees:
Emaan
Ihsan 
Haya 
Sabr

Playoff MVP - To be determined after the Finals

- The Video recap for Game One is up and can be viewed here

Week Thirteen - May 29th - Spring Finals

- And then there were two - Emaan and Ihsan advance to the finals but with very different paths and will square off for the Spring Season Championship.  Emaan (3rd) and Ihsan (4th) pulled off upsets of sorts to advance and continue the trend of top seeds faltering in the playoffs.

- Haya came into the playoffs as the top seed but injuries eventually caught up as they were without Aazar Zafar and Junaid Mohammad, playing without your top two draft picks will eventually come back to hurt you.

- It should be noted that Ihsan was playing without GM Salman Khalid for both games and Nauman Abbasi for Game Two.  Abbasi promised to have a better showing for his team in Game Two after watching the video recap from Game One.  It wasn't clear if his statement that he would help his team win Game Two meant that his team would be better of playing without him.

- Haya actually roared out to an early 2-0 lead and seemed well on their way to making the finals but Ihsan got a goal in the final minute of the first from Yousuf Soliman who never gave up and his hard work (and a guarantee that his team would win) would pay off as Ihsan scored twice in the final three and a half minutes of the game to force overtime.  The five minutes of extra play solved nothing and Ihsan advanced by outscoring Haya 3-1 in the shootout.

- It takes a great deal of confidence to guarantee a win, Coach K reportedly did it for Emaan with seconds left and up two goals over Shukr - but Yousuf Soliman showed a level of hubris not often seen as on video he guaranteed that despite just minutes left and his team losing 2-1 that they were going to win the game.  The fact that Ihsan managed to pull it off saves him from having that clip thrown in his face but he did rally his team when they needed it the most.  It should be noted that Soliman took a silly hooking penalty late in Overtime and as a result was not eligible to take a penalty shot - fortunately the three Ihsan shooters managed to score and save him from potentially watching his team lose from the box.

- Haya ends their season on a sour note but should hold their heads up high, they started the season on fire and it was more injuries than anything that derailed their season.  Yusuf Kapoor was solid in net once again (as he was for Haya in the Fall Tier-2 Season) and always gave his team a chance to win.

- Shukr was an enigma to deal with, seemingly never strong enough to deliver the knockout punch they ended the season with a 3-1-6 record, the six ties are a new (dubious) league record.  The team drafted goalie Khalid Mufti in the first round and he rewarded them with a strong season and was their rock all year.  Inconsistent attendance from their stars along with those stars not scoring was their undoing.  The team ended the season with the best defence with only 17 goals against but the second worst offence with only 16 goals.  Ibrahim Hindy was solid this year finishing with seven goals and nine points, his end to end game was solid and he led his team by example.

- For the Emaan/Shukr playoff series, Shukr had a chance to steal game one (even though they were missing many of their stars) but collapsed late.  The star of the series though was Waqar Khan who anchored Emaan's top line and ate up Shukr seemingly at will.  Khan finished the series with two goals and four assists.  His wingers also had a big series with Furqan Salam putting up two goals and three assists while Arif Bijabhai put up two goals and an assist.  That's 14 points over two games  for the trio which was a key for their series sweep over Shukr.  The trio (well more Waqar and Arif) always got back defensively and were not on for any goals against - the big difference in the series.

- Emaan almost played Game Two without Bilal Pervaiz who stumbled in as the second half was starting.  Reportedly he intended to take a short nap prior to the game but slept longer than intended, only being awoken near the start of the game by his teammates trying to find out where he was.  Pervaiz managed to get to arena to contribute as he scored (a bit of a lucky goal) on his first shift.  It seems that the additional beauty sleep paid off - well perhaps less beauty and more beast but I digress.

- This will be the first trip to the finals for Emaan's Coach K, Kashif Taqiuddin has had a solid season, leading his teams defense core in scoring and bringing his leadership to the team which has helped them make the jump to the finals.  No doubt Ihsan will look to limit his creativity in breakout plays hoping to disrupt Emaan's offense.  Taqiuddin has talked of his one-on-one work with Furqan Salam, trying to make him a better two-way player as he did for Waseem Bangash in the fall season.

- Ihsan has been here before, three times before to be precise.  In a remarkable show of stability, Ihsan has made the finals in every Spring Season, winning the first one and losing last season after being decimated by injuries.

- The two meetings between these teams saw Emaan win 3-2 and the teams tie 2-2.  Hard to make predictions but this should be a great series with a lot of sub-plots to make it entertaining.  Various Cambridge players are facing off, long-time friends Nadeem Qureshi and Kashif Taqiuddin face off.  Emaan facing a pair of their favourite players to watch in Ahmad Hathout and Yousuf "Drake" Soliman.  This will also be a chance for Waqar Khan to show that he was truly deserving to win the scoring title over Ahmad Hathout who racked up seven points in the final two games against a listless Ikhlas - one of those games shooting on an empty net.

- Finally, after Emaan's win a player from Shukr suggested that the league should bring in testing for Performance Enhancing Drugs, referencing this picture showing Waqar Khan and Jibran Salam who are either putting in a lot of time in the gym or are getting some help.

When it was questioned why there was no concern about Furqan Salam, there seemed to be confusion as based upon the physique it was thought that it was younger brother Wahhaj Salam in the photo.

- Video Recaps are up for both games, some great highlights (especially for the Ihsan comeback) so make sure to watch!

• Emaan vs Shukr
• Haya vs Ihsan 

Week Twelve - May 15th

- The Playoffs are off and some exciting results from both Game Ones for the Semi-Finals.

- Emaan and Shukr opened the playoffs with a generally tight affair which is what Shukr would want with their low scoring offence.  Shukr actually took the early lead and were up 2-1 with less than five minutes left in the game before the wheels fell off as Emaan scored twice within 23 seconds and added another with 12 seconds left for the 4-2 win.

- Emaan got a boost from "Coach K" who was able to rally his team and create the clutch goals when they needed it to get the win.  Kashif Taqiuddin’s leadership has been a boost for this squad that was knocked out in the Semi-Finals last Spring Season.

- Shukr was kept in the game by goalie Khalid Mufti who was called upon repeatedly to make big saves to give his team a chance in this one.

- Haya got the win in their tilt with Ihsan, roaring out to a 3-0 lead before stumbling and allowing Ihsan to score a pair of goals to make it 3-2.  The game was put away by Akib Malik who scored the insurance marker and allowed Haya to seal the win.

- Ihsan had a glorious chance to tie the game up in the 2nd Period as Ahmad Hathout threaded a beautiful pass to an open Nauman Abbasi at the side of the net, however Abbasi was not able to convert on the open side and hit shot went into Haya goalie Yusuf Kapoor allowing Haya to hold the lead and add an insurance goal a couple of minutes later.

- Haya got a big game from Faisal Malik who finished with three assists and a pair of penalties as he mixed things up on the floor with his physical play on the blue line.

- Ihsan was playing without Salman Khalid and Abdul-Wahab Mohammad, Khalid being a huge loss as he brings a great sense of stability to the defence core of Ihsan.

- Post-game some members of Haya expressed concern that during one play where Rizwan Malik was running at full steam that his knee brace may have come flying off.  Fortunately it did stay on and Malik had a solid outing including a goal early in the game.

- Abdu Sharkawy of Emaan had a solid game, winning big face-offs and setting up a pair of goals, Sharkaway seems to be working hard to make up for his disastrous parade to the penalty box during Emaan’s regular season finale where Emaan barely held on for a tie against Sabr where a loss would have seen Emaan be eliminated from the playoffs.

- Video Recaps are up for both games, some great highlights so make sure to watch!

• Emaan vs Shukr
• Haya vs Ihsan

Week Eleven - May 8th

- The Regular season is over and the wild night we expected last week played out close to what pundits had expected.  Ihsan defeating Ikhlas was expected, Shukr managed to win their game against Haya where both teams were short benched and Emaan barely outlasted Sabr in a game that ended as a tie.

- The Emaan vs Sabr game was a chippy affair with a lot of offsetting penalties for physical play and this one went right down to the wire.  Emaan had an early 2-0 lead and a 3-1 lead with four minutes left in the game but Sabr kept working hard and the combo of Zaid Toorawa and Atif Mian sparked the comeback as the duo set up goals by Mustafa Alam and Azhar Kalair.  But despite the great push from Sabr they could not get the game winner in the final seconds which is what they needed to bump Emaan for a playoff spot.

- Sabr also got a great performance from Zayd Agjee who made some spectacular saves to keep his team in it and give them a chance for the win.  He was a

- The season is over for Ikhlas and Sabr, both face the disappointment for not advancing with very different points of view.  For Ikhlas they were eliminated a couple of weeks ago and the combo of player absenteeism and some blowout losses to start the season doomed them.  Ikhlas was to be featured around All-Star Goalie Ibad Khan who is one of the best around - therein lies the problem as he wasn’t around often enough for his team playing only five games.  Missing arguably your best player is a recipe for disaster which is what the rest of the squad seemed to endure.  Weak performances from some of their top draft picks certainly didn’t help the cause.

- For their season finale, Ikhlas was forced to call Ahmad Mobin to fill in for them between the pipes, it wasn’t clear if Ikhlas brass were hoping Mobin could carry them as he did last Spring Season where he almost repeatedly stood on his head to bail them out long enough to steal a win but that didn’t happen this day.  Mobin faced more shots than he may have expected after a long layoff and made some big saves but wasn’t able to recreate last season’s magic for Ikhlas.

- Sabr came within a goal of making the playoffs but came up just short and looking back there were some close losses that hurt them but the loss to Ikhlas (for that teams only win of the season) has to particularly sting.  Sabr had great balance on paper and coming out of the draft (assisted by Waseem “the Dream” Bangash) things looked up but little mistakes along the way cost them their chance at a championship.  The team got great individual performances from Zaid Toorawa (2 goals, 7 assists) and Atif Mian (2 goals, 6 assists) and the growth of those two should be something to watch for next season.

- After their gruelling game with Sabr last week, an Emaan player summed up the effort with a simple, “we did enough to get it done and derail the TooToo train” in a veiled reference to Sabr’s Zaid Toorawa.

- Shukr ground out a win over Haya in a game where both teams had a short bench, Shukr with three subs and Haya with two subs.  Shukr got a massive effort from Arssal Shahabuddin who was forced to play the entire game on D and scored his teams first goal on a spectacular solo effort.

- Ahmad Hathout wins the scoring title with 6 goals and 14 assists; edging out Waqar Khan from Emaan (8 goals, 10 assists).  Players from Emaan felt their captain got robbed pointing to Hathout picking up 7 points in the final two games against last place Ikhlas and one of those game without a goalie.

- Playoff match-ups are set and should provide some great action.

• Shukr will face Emaan in what will be a great contrast in styles as Emaan’s high octane offence will face Shukr’s defensive approach to games.  Emaan’s defence is solid as well while Shukr’s offence is anemic having scored almost half as many goals as Emaan did this season.  Emaan has struggled in their last few games but they have a deep team and high ball hockey IQ.  In the regular season, Emaan won the first meeting 6-1 while the second meeting ended in a 1-1 tie.
• Haya will face Ihsan in another solid match-up.  Haya swept the season series with 3-2 and 5-3 wins.  Haya struggled in their final two regular season games (tie and a loss) while Ihsan comes in hot (a pair of 6-1 wins) but considering Haya locked up a playoff spot long ago they didn’t have much to play for whereas Ihsan was in a battle to grab the final playoff spot.  This one will down to a battle of the Malik’s vs the tag team of Soliman/Hathout’s.

- Emaan Captain Waqar Khan stated he expects a big playoff performance from Umair Ashraf who has had a notable season with various mentions in this column.  Hopefully he doesn’t take another tumble like this one.

Week Ten - May 1st

- Nine weeks completed and few would have predicted the roller coaster we have in store for the final week of the season.  Let’s start with what is fact to this point: Haya will finish first and Ikhlas will finish last.  That means that the remaining four teams are all pushing to lock down the final three playoff spots.

- For Playoff seeding when teams are tied, the ranking goes first by most wins, then head-to-head, then goal differential and then finally fewest goals allowed.  With four teams in play for the remaining three spots every game this week will have an impact on the final standings which will make for an exciting night.  Here are the match-ups and the potential impacts:

• 8pm - Ikhlas vs Ihsan: We already know that Ikhlas is done and Ihsan is currently clinging to the final playoff spot.  If Ihsan wins they are in for sure, a tie and they are waiting until the 10pm game as if Sabr wins they would claim fourth (more wins)
• 9pm - Shukr vs Haya: We know that Haya is locked into first place, Shukr is tied for second with Emaan and a win or even a tie will guarantee a playoff spot.  A loss and they are hoping for an Ihsan or Sabr loss to advance.
• 10pm - Sabr vs Emaan: Sabr is currently in fifth and only a win gets them as a tie combined with an Ihsan loss would still see Sabr out as Ihsan swept the season series and owns the head-to-head tie breaker.  Emaan is in the unbelievable position (considering the talent in their lineup) of needing a point to clinch; having just lost to Sabr last week the pressure is on Emaan now.

- Ikhlas is out but can play spoiler in this last week of the season as they look to disrupt Ihsan and their playoff push.  Ikhlas came out of the draft with the best goalie in Ibad Khan and a lot of great pieces to work with but things went sideways after being demolished in their first game by Emaan (aka Cambridge 2) and followed that up with another lopsided loss to Sabr.  With a rough start and numerous player absences along the way Ikhlas never really got going and some off years from key players hurt - their top three draft picks combined for a goal and an assist over the first nine games.

- Ihsan got a big 6-1 win last week over Ikhlas until you notice that they played against an empty net all game.  Kudos to Ikhlas for trying to keep it close and the various players that tried to cover the net.  Rayhan Taqiuddin was observed blocking a few shots and surely takes solace in that he shut down longtime friend Nadeem Qureshi who did not pick up a point in the game.  Ahmad Hathout however put up a four-point night to take over the scoring leader from Waqar Khan of Emaan.

- Last week Shukr did what they do best - tie games.  Haya came in with just three subs and after Luqman Arshad had a redirected shot hit him in the face, Haya was down to just two players on the bench for about 10 minutes while Arshad got patched up.  With the numerical advantage, Shukr was still unable to break Haya as Yusuf Kapoor made some big saves and Shukr managed to waste other opportunities with wide shots or turnovers deep in the offensive zone.

- The Emaan vs Sabr game had a scary moment when Umair Ashraf collided with a Sabr player and as he didn’t see his opponent had the wind knocked out of him.  After receiving some medical attention and a massage from Kashif Taqiuddin he was helped to his bench and received a round of applause.  He was able to finish the game in a limited capacity and Emaan will need him at full strength for the regular season finale.

- Sabr was in trouble a week ago, needing some help to give them a chance to make the playoffs, a week later they control their own fate as a win over Emaan in the last game of the season will get them in.  Emaan took an early lead and seemed poised to hold on and end Sabr’s season but then Zaid Toorawa took over.  Sure he got into a shouting match with teammate Mustafa Alam over an errant pass but Toorawa stepped up to score the go ahead goal for Sabr and then sealed the win with an empty netter from inside the defensive zone.  There were conflicting reports on his reaction after the goal as initially it was said he was calm but later reports suggested he turned to his teammates and stated “That’s why they got me here!  That’s what I do!”

- Many observers (including Emaan themselves) were shocked to discover that the team not only had yet to clinch a playoff spot but was in real danger of missing the playoffs entirely.  Winless in their last three games and now the team is feeling the pressure.

- Sabr was able to exploit the spacing of Emaan’s defensive set-up as they frequently had Atif Mian running slants through the neutral zone and with his speed he was able to create multiple offensive opportunities for his team.

- Back to Toorawa, Emaan Captain Waqar Khan noted that Toorawa plays the role of pest well and provided a game changing performance.  Toorawa has come a long way from the media circus he created around himself last season with this debacle.

Week Six - March 27th

- The undefeated streak for Shukr is over and not in a good way after a 6-1 mauling at the hands of Emaan.  Shukr started the game with only two subs (ended with four) and managed to take a surprising 1-0 lead before the wheels fell off.  Players veered from the strategy of protecting the ball and the results of that were anything but a surprise.  So just like that Shukr went from being undefeated to being the only team without a win.

- Waqar Khan was unstoppable as Emaan's captain led the way for his team.  He went into the corners, was first on every ball and crashed the net.  The net result of his effort was a three goal and three assist night.

- Haya continued their great start to the season as they rolled over Ikhlas to put their record at 5-0.  Rizwan Malik opened the scoring and set a goal later to continue his celebrated return but he continues to refuse to speak to the media postgame.

- Back to Emaan, some questioned how it was possible that Waqar Khan had six points and one of his wingers in Bilal Pervaiz had four points yet the other winger in Furqan Salam had nothing.  Salam uncharacteristically tight-lipped post game as he was unable to explain how he was shut down in a blowout game.

- The Ikhlas struggles continue, this time with a loss to 1st place Haya, Ikhlas held a 2-1 lead in the first before allowing a goal in the final minute of the half and then a goal in the opening minute of the second half to turn the game.  With the talent available on their roster their struggles are hard to understand but they need to turn things around before the season is lost.

- With the first half of the season gone, the standings are quite the story as with the exception of Haya who is far ahead at the top of the table, the separation between 2nd and 5th is just two points leaving little room for error for teams jostling for a playoff spot.

- In a strange twist, Emaan players watched the Ikhlas vs Haya game and were vocal in their support of Ikhlas, their Cambridge rival whom they demolished in both games this season.  Emaan was chirping various Haya players with Naeem Akhtar (or Naeem Malik as they were calling him) receiving the brunt of the jeers.

- Some observers commented that they were worried about Emaan goalie Sadiq Rehman who faced only nine shots from Shukr and seemed lonely in his crease with all the action consistently on the other side of the floor.  Rehman has played well this season but (with the exception of Haya) generally has not been tested this season to see how his wrist has healed from a pre-season injury.

Week Five - March 20th

- Just as quickly as Ikhlas seemed to be turning things around, another meeting with their Cambridge rivals ended with a 6-0 beating where they were outshot 26-9 and were under siege all game.  Despite the humbling loss, Ikhlas continues to refer to Emaan as "Cambridge Two" under the guise that until Emaan wins a championship they are mere pretenders.

- Waqar Khan was a force in the battle of Cambridge, racking up two goals and two assists and leading his team to a dominant win.  The leadership of Khan combined with "Coach K" may prove to be fruitful after last games display

- Haya continues to roll as they defeated Ihsan to up their record to 4-0 to start the season, Naeem Akhtar and Junaid Mohammad have been key to their hot start, Akhtar producing some highlight reel goals along the way.

- Haya has also received some great play from (fill in the blank) Malik, although Rizwan Malik has stood out a bit more when he is not battling the media

- Shukr has had an interesting start and depending upon your perspective they are either:
> Undefeated (Glass half full)
> Winless (Glass half empty)

- Regardless of your perspective the fact is that Shukr is both of those adjectives, they have four ties in all four of their games so as Ihsan described them a few weeks ago, "they always bend but never break."  Shukr needs to get things going because right now they are tied for the lowest goals scored with Ikhlas.  Shuaib Hussein with a goal in four games and Gehad Al-Hundi with just an assist in three games won't do - that said if these two can get going then Shukr will surely be a threat to actually win a game

- After a quirky start to the schedule where the first four weeks saw home and home series, week five has teams face a new opponent so time for some new rivalries to start up

Week Four - March 6th

- The big story of last week was likely Ikhlas getting their first win of the season after being dominated in their first two games.  A bigger feat considering that Ibad Khan was missing again.  Attendance has been a challenge for Ikhlas this season as Hammad Khan has yet to play a game and he was expected to help anchor the teams defense core.

- Haya came away with another win over Emaan but this one was more convincing than the first.  Ali Malik potted the game winner with some hard work and using his speed to his advantage.  Haya picked up Malik in a trade which has more than worked out for them as his game continues to grow.

- Sabr got a boost last week with the return of Yousuf Sowdagar from an ankle injury.  While he looked a bit rusty in his first action back, when he gets going it will be a big boost for Sabr who are already looking solid so far this season despite their loss to Ikhlas last week.

- Shukr continues to have penalty problems this season which has disrupted their flow with the constant penalty kills so better discipline is required if they plan on creating any type of consistent offensive pressure

- It's early in the season but already Furqan Salam has more points (4 points in 3 games) than he did in the entire Fall season (2 points in 11 games).  Good to see him back on track but if he starts to struggle, expect to see various meme's analyzing his struggles

- Shukr has had an anemic offensive showing thus far, with just 4 goals scored in their first three games, a combination of players not clicking along with trying to do make too pretty a play have hurt their goal-scoring but its only a matter of time before they start to put everything together - or at least that's what they keep telling themselves

- Umair Ashraf is either the most interesting man in the world or just enjoys seeing his name in this column (I am not complaining - I have a page to fill).  He recently talked of his enjoyment of listening to Backstreet Boys (with Facebook posts to support his devotion) and how he likes to sing their songs while playing to throw off opponents.  No word if this strategy works or not...its definitely different...it's not really hurting anyone...just annoying which is the point.

- Speaking of music, during the Spring Season draft Haya considered drafting Zayn Malik of One Direction in their transparent attempt to grab as many Malik's as possible but decided against it worrying that they had already filled their pretty boy quota when they selected Rizwan Malik

- The standings are pretty tight thus far with just one point separating 2nd from 6th place, only Haya has come out of the starting gate flying

- Big game this week with Ikhlas vs Cambridge Two (AKA Emaan) as Ikhlas tries to avenge their humbling 5-2 defeat to open the season which was kind to how badly they were dominated as they were outshot 43-13 and were overwhelmed

- Haya had a surprise guest last week as Naiem Malik showed up to support his family, he reportedly gave a riveting pre-game speech about taking the body and playing a tight conservative game.  Haya listened to what he said and went out and did the exact opposite resulting in a 5-2 win...

- Speaking of Rizwan Malik, there was some controversy as the I-Slam Hockey twitter account noted that Naiem Malik  was attempting to pull Rizwan Malik to another team, which Saleem Malik took exception too and released the following statement, "I'm fed up with how the media treats Riz.  It's not his fault he hurt his knee.  Rizwan is a heart and soul player and doesn't deserve to be treated this way.  You guys should be ashamed, you owe him an apology."  No word is a lawsuit is pending so stay tuned

Week Three - February 27th

- The biggest headline thus far has been the struggles of Ikhlas, with the best goalie and great pieces in front of him the fact that Ikhlas has been soundly defeated in their first two games is a shock.  True that Ibad Khan was a late scratch in their game against Sabr last week but their offensive struggles are unexpected.  They get a rematch with Sabr this week and need something positive this week or a trade is likely to happen to shake things up.

- Haya leads the league after grinding out a win over Emaan in an early battle of contenders.  The star was Yusuf Kapoor who made some spectacular saves in the final minutes to preserve his teams lead.  Kapoor was the last goalie taken in the draft this season but has played very well this season and is proving to be a steal for his team.

- Back to Ikhlas for a moment, they have given up an absurd 73 shots in their first two games, if you were looking at advanced metrics their opponents Corsi score would be through the roof.

- Sabr looked good in their last game and the return of Atif Mian was a great boost to their offense as he used his speed to eat up the Ikhlas defense, with the return of Yousuf Sowdagar on the horizon from an ankle injury this team is looking like they are poised for a solid season

- Shukr seems unable to get away from their penalty problems that hurt them in the season opener as undisciplined play gave Ihsan multiple power play opportunities last week, thankfully for Shukr their penalty killing was up to the task and then some as they scored a key shorthanded goal to give their struggling offense a boost

- Sadiq Rehman made his debut for Emaan after missing the opener with a wrist injury but did not suffer any setbacks and his performance will be key for his team to make a championship run

- Salman Alvi of Shukr has turned some heads with his play thus far, known for his big shot and offensive awareness it has been his hustle and speed that have his team giving him rave reviews

- Correction from last week, we noted that Umair Ashraf of Emaan was eager to watch the NBA Celebrity Game for his favourite Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, however he wanted to correct the record that his favourite Bollywood star is actually "SRK".  We regret the error.

Week Two - February 20th

• It was billed as Cambridge One vs Cambridge Two - or as one Ikhlas player put it, Cambridge One vs Emaan / Ikhlas vs Cambridge Two.  What it turned into was a pre-Valentine's Day massacre as Ikhlas seemed anything but the team that won last Spring.  Unable to get the ball out of their zone, they were outshot 24-5 in the first half but trailed only 2-1 thanks to the heroics of Ibad Khan.  The second half was much the same and the final score of 5-2 flattered Ikhlas who were outshot 43-13 for the game and it was only Khan who kept this from being a blowout

• Emaan looked strong as all three lines were flying, the only hiccup was the late announcement that starting goalie Sadiq Rehman was scratched with a wrist injury but he was capably replaced by Sheraz Mahmood in this game

• Ikhlas was missing some key players on D and it showed, when they have all their players it will be a better opportunity to gauge their team because this game was ugly

• Umair Ashraf of Emaan was distracted going into the big Cambridge game and was seen putting together this fan video for his favourite Bollywood Star participating in the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game

• Zaid Toorawa of Sabr is recognized for his offensive talents, his defensive skills leave something to be desired as he seemed to be trying to create offensive chances at both ends of the arena; best highlighted by his centering pass to an opposing Shukr forward in the final minutes of their match-up that ended in a tie

• Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin made his return after a lengthy layoff due to a serious knee injury, many thought his career was over but after a strong debut for Emaan with two assists and an end-to-end rush where he stepped through multiple Ikhlas players it seems like the only thing he lost in the layoff was his stamina as he described himself as being in poor conditioning.  Thankfully he didn't show up to the Emaan camp looking like this.  If Coach K can bring his leadership to Emaan then this season is already looking great for them.

• Waseem Bangash made an appearance last week, it was unclear if he was hoping to be added as a replacement player or looking to get his feet wet coaching Sabr after seeing the success Coach K had on Haya last Fall season

• Haya defeated Ihsan 3-2 or as one observer noted, the Malik's defeated the Soliman's

• Rizwan Malik seemed to be showing no ill-effects from the injury he suffered in the Fall Season and picked up an assist in his return which was great to see

• Sabr was playing shorthanded against Shukr but managed to get a tie, missing their top two picks in Yousuf Sowdagar and Atif Mian, Sowdagar is injured so they will be without him for a few games still while Mian was a late scratch as his family welcomed the birth of a baby girl - Congats to Atif and his family!

Week One - February 13th

- The draft was completed and there are always surprises in a pressure filled draft for GMs to try and build a winning team.  So here are some draft notes:

• Yousuf Sowdagar went first overall to Sabr as expected, despite the ankle injury that will keep him out to start the season, Sowdagar was the best player available in the draft so a no brainer here.
• Aazar Zafar was picked second overall, a bit of a surprise but a solid pick nonetheless as his speed and tenacity will serve Haya well
• Nauman Abbasi went third overall much to the pleasure of Ihsan GM Salman Khalid who wanted the speedy ball carrying style that Abbasi brings and planned to build his defence core around
• Khalid Mufti went fourth overall to Shukr who grabbed one of the top goalies available in the draft, never a bad strategy to start building from the net out
• Emaan grabbed Adeel Awan fifth overall in a solid move, giving them experience and scoring from the back
• Ikhlas picked Amir Multani with the sixth pick, many were surprised to see Multani fall this far in the draft but to the pleasure of Ikhlas GM Wakaas Khan he was able to grab a scoring forward
• Emaan surprised some (well maybe only me) by selecting Sadiq Rehman as their goalie, Rehman is solid but after all the friendly trash-talking from last season it was a surprise to see them grab him
• Ihsan was able to bring back many pieces from the team that made the finals last Spring and likely would have won if not for all the injuries that limited them in the finals
• Haya stayed true to expectations and grabbed anyone with the surname Malik; it worked well for them as they were able to grab some solid pieces along the way
• Emaan grabbed Kashif Taqiuddin in the fifth round, he is coming off a serious knee injury so difficult to predict how he will perform but if he is given a chance to coach, then "Coach K" may be able to get this team on a roll early
• Sabr lost out on a few of their desired players as their GM group had volume control issues, specifically Zaid Toorawa seemed unaware that in a draft you should be discrete on who you are planning to take next when your pick is not next.  Mustafa Alam tried to move their group away into a corner of the draft room before telling his Co-GM to stop talking
• Sabr also had some outside help for the draft as Waseem Bangash gave them a hand with identifying some of the newer players available; it will be interesting to see if Bangash shows up and tries to help coach the team he helped put together
• The plan was to give away a car to the player taken last in the draft, Rayhan Taqiuddin has reportedly been looking forward to taking possession of said car but due to tax implications the transfer has been delayed; to his credit Taqiuddin said he will donate the car to charity

- Week One has some interesting match-ups, particularly the Ikhlas vs Emaan game pitting the two Cambridge groups against each other, or as one Ikhlas player referred to it: Ikhlas vs Cambridge Two

- Emaan may reportedly be without Sadiq Rehman so securing a goalie from the list of available back-ups will need to happen quickly

Week 17 - Finals for Fall Tier-2 and Spring Season

- In an amazing turn of events, Zuhd came back to win Game Two and then scored in Overtime to take the Tier-2 Title.  Many had expected Haya to steamroll their way to the Championship after a dominant regular season but Zuhd was the only team that Haya didn't defeat in the regular season so the result shouldn't be considered a great upset.

- In the post-game press conference, it was revealed that Waseem Bangash was playing through multiple injuries throughout the playoffs which makes sense considering he won the Scoring title, tied for the Most Goals title and then went pointless in three playoff games.

- Speaking of injuries, Haya goalie Yusuf Kapoor pulled his groin early in the game but with no alternatives available gutted out the rest of the game, seemingly with a few of his teammates unaware that he was not able to move freely.  Despite the pain he hung in there to try and get his team the win and in Overtime made a spectacular save early to rob Zuhd and give his team a chance.

- Haya was also hampered by the absence of "Coach K" who celebrated his teams presumed Championship with a trip to Hawaii.  It was apparent early in Game Two that Haya seemed thrown off by not having him run the bench and an observer noted that the teams body language was all wrong.  This was the match-up that Haya wanted but clearly did not work out as they had planned.  But enough about the losers....

- Here they are, your 2014-2015 Tier-2 Champions - Zuhd

- Zuhd stepped up when it mattered the most as after dropping Game One of the Finals, they stepped up and won Game Two and then scored in Overtime to take the title.  They had a solid mix of veterans and youth and players with winning pedigree.  Fahad Mallik and Naeem Akhtar scored in Game Two resulting in the win but it was Huzaifa Manjra who was the key performer as he set up both goals and then scored in Overtime (cashing in on the hard work by Sulayman Azmat) to win the Title and earn himself Playoff MVP Honours.  Manjra also set up the OT winner in the Semi-Finals against Ikhlas so his impact was critical for Zuhd.  Manjra also picked up the "Mr. Congeniality" Award, in large part thanks to his Bollywood looks:

- Usamah Rao picked up his third championship in a row, post game he simply stated, "I really wanted this one" and walked away.

- Saqib Sheikh was involved in some controversy after skipping Game One however his experience in Finals and notably OT games was a boost for Zuhd.  In the post-game celebrations he was heard yelling, "I'm going to Denny's!" (most people say they want Disney World but to each their own...)

- Thanks to all players for another great season; with that said we are quickly approaching the Spring Season!

- There is a lot of chatter about teams wanting to trade up to acquire Amir Multani.  His speed, size and experience make him an attractive asset to pick up via the draft.

Here is the mock draft preview for the Spring Season:

2015 I-Slam Hockey Spring Season Draft Preview

Below is the draft order, based on the aggregate result of GM rankings by OC members:
 

Zaid, Zayd, Farrukh, Mustafa, Navaz	Akib, Sadat, Saleem, Luqman, Naeem	Salman, Ahmad, Yousuf, Hani, Farooq	Ahmad, Riaz, Arssal, Shuaib, Gehad	Furqan, Arif, Bilal, Jibran, Waqar	Wakaas, Umair, Ibad, Sajjid, Assad
Sabr	Haya	Ihsan	Shukr	Emaan	Ikhlas
#1	#2	#3	#4	#5	#6

So who will pick who? We won't know until Friday night, when the draft officially begins, but here's a mock draft for the players we think will go top 6:

1. Sabr:  Yousuf Sowdagar
Sowdagar  is currently suffering from a fractured ankle which has kept him out of all hockey action since late December. By his own estimation, he's likely going to miss close to half the season as he begins to recuperate. Injury or not, he's the best player in the draft by a fair margin and we expect him to go first overall.

2. Haya: Nauman Abbasi
It's tough to predict who the Haya brass will go with, but they did have decent chemistry with Abbasi last season as he brings some much needed speed to their group. But Abbasi's penchant for missing games might cause him to slide in the draft as the Malik's look to improve on last season's disappointment.

3: Ihsan: Amir Multani
I have no idea which direction Ihsan will go with their first pick. Last season they added a defender in Nadeem Qureshi with their first selection. Qureshi will be available, as will Belal Hafeez if they are looking for defensive help. They could also go with a goalie in Khalid Mufti but goal-scoring is also in short supply and Multani is fresh off last season's Spring Championship where he played a pivotal role. Multani might be the perfect linemate for Yousuf and Hani Soliman as he can bring much needed finish to the group.

4. Shukr: Junaid Mohammad
It's hard to peg the Shukr brass as this collection have never managed a team together before, but I can see this being a toss up between adding the goals that Junaid Mohammad is sure to produce or the goaltending of Khalid Mufti. Most teams err by selecting a goalie too early, so adding some firepower is never a bad way to go. Junaid has been, in my opinion, one of the purest snipers the past decade in the Muslim hockey scene. While his goal totals have dropped in Tier-1, the slower pace of the Spring season will allow Mohammad to feast on goalies.

5. Emaan: Belal Hafeez
I'm going with the friend connection here, plus if they add Hafeez, they are then free to move Jibraan Salaam up to forward if need be. Hafeez brings a big shot and a brash in-your-face style of defense that will help augment the skilled players they have up front in Furqan Salaam and Arif Bijabhai.

6. Ikhlas: Adeel Awan
Ikhlas will be looking to bring back as much as they can from last season's Championship winning core and Awan will definitely be a first round target of theirs. Unless they can pull some trades, the chances that they land Multani are extremely thin. But Awan will strengthen an already strong defensive back situation and he also has the ability to pitch in with goals.

- Make sure to follow us on Twitter as the Draft Results are announced live on Friday February 6th.