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.