Week 16 - January 16th

- Tier-1 has a Champion as Ihsan defeated Taqwa by a 4-0 score in Game Three of the finals to take the championship.  Ihsan got goals from their second and third lines in this game which was what propelled them to the title as their top line was shut down.

Here they are, your 2014-2015 Tier One Champions - Ihsan:

- Taqwa put up a good fight but were missing key players Sami Choudhry and Mohammad Bilal who were not available to play.  They had others try and step up but it was clear that rotating players into unfamiliar positions impacted the teams ability to push the ball up and generate goals.  That said they did fire 32 shots at Ihsan keeper Ali Khwaja who put on a show with some spectacular saves in the shutout.  Ironically Khwaja was Taqwa's goalie in last years T1 finals so he gets his ring at the expense of his old teammates.

- Ihsan seemed to be trying to sabotage their lead in the game as they had a parade to the penalty box giving Taqwa ample opportunities on the power play but Ihsan's PK Unit (or more notably the aforementioned Ali Khwaja) held their ground.

- Taqwa's Zaid Toorawa has been taking some ribbing for his shirt ripping debacle (see here or here if you missed it) but to his credit seems to be taking it all in good stride with a smile.  Zaid seemed less effective in Game Three but had he been able to recreate the energy he brought in the Semi-Finals and Game One of the series, Taqwa may have been able to win.

- For Ihsan they had a number of heroes that got them the championship, Tariq Ayubi for one was playing through a painful knee injury and is reported to be undergoing a procedure on his knee this week demonstrating his grit to play though the injury.  Ali Wadee indicated that he too was playing through injury but being out of shape doesn't really count so....

- Ihsan's championship was also the first for both Ibrahim Hindy and Faraaz Alvi who were both emotional after the game taking it all in after so many years chasing a ring - reportedly they were taking turns with this celebration yell.  Hindy has played in every season since the league began so Ihsan's win has a feel-good thread to it.

- The Tier-2 Finals kicked off with Haya taking Game One by a 1-0 score.  A relatively tight game but Haya dominated most of the play and got the late winner off a great solo effort from Aazar Zafar who turned a faceoff deep in the Zuhd zone into an unexpected goal.

- Haya players talked after the game about how they were displeased with the score and expected to win by more considering how they controlled the game and outshot Zuhd 25-15.  Considering they were without Mehmed Rizvanovic and still controlled the play shows just how deep they are.  In fact Haya was so confident in their depth that they put their third line out for the final minute to close out the game and the third line stepped up shutting Zuhd down to hold the 1-0 win.

- Some unconfirmed controversy for Zuhd involves Saqib Sheikh as he missed Game One of the finals and was accused of missing the game to grab a meal at Denny's...let's hope this one isn't true because...well nothing should ever be prioritized below Denny's.

- Haya goes into Game Two this week needing just a tie to lock up the championship but assuredly they will be looking to put a stamp on their season with another big win over Zuhd.  Their job may be a bit tougher without Coach K behind the bench as he took an early celebration trip to Hawaii.

Week Fifteen - January 9th

- Game Two of the Tier-1 Finals was another interesting one, the game ended with a 5-3 final score but does not reflect how fast and close this game really was.  Ihsan opened the scoring just 39 seconds into the game only to have Taqwa tie it up 31 seconds later.  Ihsan then went on to score two goals in 12 seconds and added another to make it 4-1 going into the half with all the momentum.  Yet Taqwa made it a 4-3 game before Ihsan got an empty netter to clinch it.  A bounce here and there and this could have easily have been another overtime game.

- Taqwa must be feeling a bit of deja vu from last season where they won Game One of the Finals and drop Game Two forcing a third game - last year they lost Game Three in OT so they will hope to change that this time around.

- Ihsan looked unstoppable in stretches in Game Two and when they put up three goals in a row in the first half and led some observers thinking the game was on the verge of turning into a blowout.  Taqwa managed to get their team defense back in order but Ihsan got some great jump from their second and third line which helped them build an early lead.

- Taqwa lacked a jump from their third line in Game Two which can be traced to the absence of Zaid Toorawa who was in Detroit watching the Raptors game.  Toorawa has become a YouTube sensation thanks to this clip.  

- Game Three is expected to be a great game to determine a winner, Taqwa is rumoured to be missing some players which will hurt them but considering all the great talent that they have they are still in great position to win it all.  A key for Taqwa is composure as they have taken some terrible penalties in the playoffs and the poor discipline has cost them.

- Shaukat Khan of Taqwa has been having himself another fine playoffs with four points in three games and having won the Regular Season scoring title.  He has been a constant threat to score and as long as he is involved for Taqwa they have a great chance to win it all.

- Back to Zaid Toorawa for a moment, is it strange that he seemed so comfortable with having another man rip his clothes off?  An equally disturbing thought is how he has taken a number of Road Trips with Waseem Bangash - so one wonders if the two have ever been caught on the "Kiss Cam" and how they handled that situation.  Here is another angle on his failed shirt rip that went viral on FailTube.  Let's hope he can redeem himself this week in Game Three.

- For Tier-2 we now have our finals match-up of Haya versus Zuhd in a rare (and possibly first time ever) match-up between the First and Second seeds from the regular season in Tier-2

- Haya steamrolled Ridha in their semi-final game with a 4-0 victory that never seemed in doubt.  Ridha was trying to keep it tight and limit the chances for Haya but postgame, Coach K talked of his strategy to break the Ridha defense and that he did as his team scored four goals in the first and while they tried to state that they wouldn't run up the score the stats show something entirely different as they directed a total of 39 shots at Ridha goaltender Yasir Hussain, an astonishing amount and a testament to his strong performance at stopping Haya's attempt to embarrass his team.

- Zuhd squeaked out a 2-1 OT win over Ikhlas in a game that could have gone either way (as OT games often do).  Zuhd keeper Rizwan Ali bailed his team out of many jams with some big saves and it was an OT winner from Abdu Sharkawy early into OT that had his team advance as he chopped in a rebound from a Huzaifa Manjra shot.  Ikhlas was not able to finish their chances in close (and hit the post a few times) which cost them this game.

- Zuhd will need some big performances if they want to claim the championship, some secondary scoring from Manjra would be a benefit if he isn't too busy starting up his Bollywood career.

- Ridha saw their season end short of their final goal but looking back they made a great run as early in the season they had been written off and their GM group criticised for giving up on Nadeem Qureshi when he was traded away.  They had the last laugh as they earned some big wins and the final playoff spot.

- The (surprisingly) much-followed saga about Shoaib Bhatti and his retirement decision gave fans something to hold onto for Ridha.  Bhatti has been quiet on his final retirement decision but did take his family to Disney World over the break - it is not clear if he had planned this trip to celebrate his retirement or as an early celebration for a championship,  We will let his fans know if we hear something about the status of this veteran.

- Ikhlas fell short of their Championship goal but a couple of bounces and they would be in the finals.  With some strong talent and a good team approach they were competitive all season but a pair of key injuries hurt them during the season where points were dropped and lost them the first place berth they desired to have an easier path to the finals.  In a One-Game playoff anything can happen and post-game a few of their players acknowledged that they felt the game was theirs for the taking.  Credit should be given to their GM Team who drafted a strong team despite picking last in the draft for the first five rounds and built a solid third line which was key to their success all season.

- Speaking of Ikhlas, one player may be pleased that he won't have to see his name in this column anymore as Atif Mian seemed to come up regularly.  Whether it was his adoring fans, his knack for losing equipment or his great season he always found a way to make it in.  Seriously though, someone buy him a label maker so he can mark his things and find his equipment faster.

- Three players from Ikhlas and Emaan from the Spring season have the dubious honour of losing in the Semi-Finals in OT both seasons.  Khalid Mufti, Zuhair Fancy and Umair Ashraf seemed to be forlorn post game as the sting of this OT loss was piled onto the misery and lost chance for redemption from the spring.

- On a more positive note, Zahid Merchant and Usamah Rao won together with Tawakul last Fall and then with Ikhlas in the Spring however face each other in this years finals.  One will have their streak stopped at two while the other will have a personal three-peat.

- Players from Haya said going into the finals this was the match-up they wanted, despite their success against Ikhlas in the regular season they feared the experience and potential of Ikhlas more than Zuhd.