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.