Week Eleven - December 16th

- Last week saw Ihsan blow three separate two-goal leads in their game with Shukr that ended in a 4-4 tie.  Emaan took advantage of a short-handed Ikhlas for a 2-0 win despite the effort from replacement goalie Sheraz Mahmood as Sheraz Bhai stepped in at the last moment for them.  Yaqeen defeated Haya 3-0 with both squads playing short benched.

- The Ikhlas-Sabr game has the Prime-Time spot tonight. It is fitting for what is at stake: 1) An Ikhlas win and they qualify for the playoffs, 2) A Sabr win and they qualify for the playoffs, or 3) a tie and Sabr must win their final game against Emaan to make the postseason.  Both teams control their own fate with a win tonight.

- It is expected that Zayd Agjee will be in net for Ikhlas. He was brought in for this very moment, to help get Ikhlas to the playoffs. So far, critics have questioned why bring him in as a replacement if he isn’t going to show up to majority of the games. Now the pressure is on Agjee, he either leaves this week as the ‘hero’ or a ‘bust’.

- In an ironic twist, Nadir Ahmed has been called up as a replacement goalie for Sabr.  The irony is that Ikhlas had Nadir Ahmed fill in for them for their earlier encounter with Sabr.  Nadir played well as the game ended in a 1-1 tie.  Some of the Sabr players described his performance that night  “Carey Pricesque”.  Now Sabr is hoping to turn the tables around on Ikhlas and hoping that Nadir can come through for them.  It should also be noted that Nadir Ahmed was also called up for Ihsan earlier this season as he help them get a 3-2 victory of Emaan.

- According to the poll administered in the week, majority feel Yasir Malik or Rizwan Malik will get the GWG.  Two unlikely candidates, but you never know what can happen in these types of games. The stage is set for anyone to become the hero.

- Ikhlas has been shutout in back to back games, first by Yaqeen and last week by Emaan.  If this streak stretches to three games they can pack up their hockey equipment for the rest of the season.

- A big reason why Ikhlas was shutout in their game against Emaan last week was the play of Ahmad Mobin. His 27 save shut-out performance is most shots faced by any goaltender this season, earning him First Star Honors.

-Speaking of shutouts, Yusuf Kapoor (Yaqeen) now leads the league with three. Yaqeen has not given up a goal in their last two matches.  In addition, Faraz Alvi’s two goals and an assist gave him the third star honours.

- It looks like the league’s decision to invest in goalie equipment is paying for itself.  You know who also was a goalie last week? Zia Ali of Ihsan!  When Zaid Majoo was late for his game, Ali strapped up to avoid his team playing with an empty net.  He held his own and helped Ihsan salvage at least a point against Shukr. Ihsan supporters on twitter has enshrined him with the nickname, “Neo”, with reference to Keanu Reeves’ character from the Matrix franchise. This appropriately encompasses Zia’s IT profession and MMA passion.

- Staying on that Ihsan-Shukr game: Hany Soliman’s 2 goals and 1 assist got him recognized as last week’s 2nd star. Also Arif Bijabhai’s 2 goal performance moved him into a tie for the goal-scoring lead. He now must hope that Waqar Khan (Emaan) and Humza Chaudhry (Yaqeen) do not find twine in their respective games as Shukr has wrapped up their season.

- The door has cracked open ever so slightly for Emaan to displace Ihsan from the summit of the standings.  Regardless of the outcome of Ihsan’s last game against Haya if Emaan can win their remaining games they will finish first overall.

- On this note, it is still plausible for Yaqeen to grab the top spot.  However first they must defeat Emaan tonight.

- Yo Haya players, time to wake up and start taking things more seriously.

- Shukr does not play again until the playoffs.  However, rumor has it that Arif Bihabhai will be away travelling at that time. If true this is a huge blow for Shukr but last Spring Season, Shukr was in the same position with goalie Yasir Hussain whom Coach K convinced to alter travel arrangements to a family wedding in Chicago to play in the Semi-Finals.

Week Ten - December 9th

- Last week saw Yaqeen rout Ikhlas, Ihsan grind out a 1-0 win over a desperate Sabr and Shukr break their two game losing streak with a win over suddenly struggling Haya.

- Firasath Ali was forced to go in net last week as Yaqeen's starting goalie Yusuf Kapoor arrived to the rink late for his game against Ikhlas. The life-less Ikhlas managed a meager two shots against Ali which he had little difficulty making the save. Ali and Kapoor’s effort in net shutout the woeful Ikhlas offense, earning the Third Star Honors.

- Yusuf Kapoor and Zaid Majoo (Ihsan) both got shutouts last week and share the lead in shut-outs with two each. Majoo was rewarded Second Star Honors after his shutout performance against Sabr. Reportedly he got an extra dose of motivation when Naiem Malik guaranteed a Sabr win on Facebook leading up to the game.

- Waqar Khan and Zaid Toorawa of Emaan and Shehryar Khan and Zayd Agjee of Ikhlas are all vacationing in Punta Cana together and will be missing their game this week. Considering what tends to happen on a Toorawa trip we hope that this is as far the story develops.

- It is not uncommon for goaltenders to have nicknames. After Usamah Rao had to go in net for Ikhlas a few weeks back the nick-name “Silent Ninja” was quickly trending over Twitter. Likewise Firasath Ali broke the internet when he had to defend Yaqeen’s cage as the nick-name “The Iceman” started to catch on.

- Last week Zayd Agjee guaranteed that Emaan would not get a goal on him in the December 9th match-up, clearly toying with fans (but hopefully not his teammates) who were looking forward to Agjee facing off against the leagues best offense.

- Whoa! Five out of the Seven teams this season have qualified for the playoffs. The last spot will come down to a tooth and nail battle between Sabr and Ikhlas. Ironically each team have identical schedules which see each team face Emaan and then end the season facing each other. So they are makers of their own destiny and in the end can only blame themselves if the don’t make the playoffs.

- Zaid Toorawa has asked teammates to live stream the game from the bench so he can watch while sitting on the beach in Punta Cana where he hopes to offer support to his team by chirping opponents (and perhaps teammates). No word if any Emaan player has offered to take this on.

-With Zayd Agjee not in the lineup tonight Ikhlas are down to their last goal-tender replacement, Sheraz Mahmood, no word yet if Sheraz Bhai will be able to suit up for them tonight.

-With Waqar Khan deciding to take a personal leave, Humza Chaudhry of Yaqeen gets another opportunity to take sole-possession of the goal-scoring lead. Hopefully Emaan does not suffer the same fate this season as Haya did in the Spring Season when Khan went on vacation and his team lost all four games without him.

-Staying on Yaqeen, Sajjid Ayubi walked away with First Star Honors after posting two goals and an assist helping his team rout Ikhlas.

-With Ihsan seemingly having first place all but secured, it looks like Emaan, Yaqeen and Haya will be fighting for 2nd place which allows them to head straight to the semis.

Week Nine - December 2nd

- Week Eight saw Ikhlas pick up their first win of the season, Ihsan grind out a win over Yaqeen and Emaan batter a depleted Haya to jump into second place.

- Finally Ikhlas got their first win!  Zayd Agjee had some nerves making his season debut after replacing Rahil Ahmad and it showed as the very first shot he faced from Saajid Bhayat beat him to put his team down a goal less than two minutes into the game.  However, he quickly re-grouped and he held his ground long enough for Shehryar Khan, recognized as the 1st Star for Week Eight, to lead the charge at the other end.  The win was huge as it saw Ikhlas jump out into the last playoff spot after being in last since the start of the season.

- The pressure is now on Sabr to get their first win, they've been hanging onto the last playoff spot all season but their three ties are not going to get this team to the playoffs.  Things just got difficult for them as Imran Merchant, their goaltender will no longer be with the team (personal).  With rosters now frozen, Sabr will have to rely on replacement goaltenders in which they can only use three times for their remaining games.  Either that or they might have to consider putting one of their roster players in net for some games.  They did this in a loss to Haya tossing Mubashir Malik in net. Nonetheless they are massive underdogs coming into the home stretch of the regular season

- With only a few games left in the season it will be unwise to leave points on the board.  With that in mind we salute Atif Mian, recognized as the 2nd Star for Week Eight, who somehow convinced his wife and family that he needed step out of a wedding they were at to play in Emaan’s game and as soon as the final buzzer sounded he returned to the reception.  He helped Emaan secure a 3-1 win over Haya who were missing some of their better plays; an amazing demonstration of polar opposites where one player displayed amazing commitment to his team whereas many Haya players abandoned their team in a game that could have helped them gain a first round bye in the playoffs.

- The above point could also be said for Shukr as they earned the dubious honour last week of being the first team to lose to Ikhlas this season.  The game was viewed as a battle between embattled coaches and Belal Hafeez can still hold his head up finally guiding his team to a win, the same cannot be said for Coach K who has his team on a two game slide and falling in the standings.

- Speaking of Shukr - An incorrect tweet was sent out during the week.  Zaid Majoo (Ihsan), Ahmad Mobin (Emaan) and Yusuf Kapoor (Yaqeen) are all tied for the league lead in shutouts - each one of them getting their donuts from Shukr.

- Much has been made of Ikhlas finally getting their first win but coming into the game against Shukr last week the pressure was clearly getting to Ikhlas GM and Captain Shehryar Khan who had a less than cordial pre-game media session.  Fielding numerous questions on the state of his team, Khan ended the session by yelling "Trust the process!" before storming out.  While a win does not erase the six-game winless run to start the season, it does vault them into a playoff spot so a step in the right direction.

- Ihsan continues to generate goals throughout their lineup: Amad Khan, recognized as the 3rd Star for Week Eight, netted the game-winner against Yaqeen.  The lost was costly for Yaqeen in their hopes of finishing first overall.

- Ahmad Ibrahim of Shukr continues to be on the IR, but you know that win, lose, draw or injured the post-game shisha parties are always on.  While his initial claims of staying in shape were that he is still "lifting" seemed to boost the hope that he would be back in form when he returns, the details which came out later that he was lifting his shisha pipe seemed to deflate the hopes of Shukr brass about what to expect from their power forward when he is able to play again.

- No word why Huzaifa Manjra of  Haya decided to show up for his game as a spectator.  Players from Emaan noted that Manjra appeared in the stands in street clothes and seemed uninterested in helping his team - if he was injured he could have at least coached his team.  His teammate Aazar Zafar finally got burnt after playing with fire the entire season as by the time he made his way to the bench Haya was trailing 1-0.  Zafar routinely joins his team after the game has already started but in this game with his team already missing key players it put his team on their heels early.

- After taking over the goal-scoring lead from Hany Soliman, Yaqeen’s Humza Chaudhry has been at the top of the leader board as he is tied with Waqar Khan of Emaan but has a game in hand.  With Emaan on a bye-week for Week Nine, Chaudhry has a chance to gain sole possession.

- Based upon the standings after Week Eight, Ihsan and Emaan have both clinched playoff spots as neither Ikhlas or Sabr can pass them regardless of what happens the rest of the way.

- In a scheduling quirk, Shukr will end their season by next week, December 9th.  For them to feel safe and have some control over their own fate, they will need to grab at least two points in their final games against Haya and Ihsan.  Assuming they do hold onto a playoff spot, Shukr will be off for more than a month - a lot of shisha can be passed around during that time and we know that Ahmad Ibrahim always has his game face on for that!

- Unconfirmed reports are out that Yasir Hussain will be in net for Sabr tonight against first place Ihsan.

Week Eight - November 25th

- With no trade activity there is not much news to report this week. Rosters are no frozen. No trade, no replacement players from here on out. Believe in the squad that you have.

- The league did approve Zayd Agjee as a replacement for Ikhlas as Rahil Ahmed suffered a season-ending injury two weeks ago. There were speculations that Ikhlas might look to shake things up and keep Usamah Rao in net and bring in a forward that could help them score goals instead.

- Many feel that the reason why Zayd Agjee has decided to join Ikhlas for the remainder of the season is to have his, “Hakeem Olajuwon” moment- taking a week team and leading them to the championships.

- Two coaches find themselves in the hot seat this week and they will have an opportunity to face each other to try and get their teams back on track. Belal Hafeez has been running the bench for Ikhlas and the result is last place with no wins and the leagues worst offense. He has been putting the team through intense physical training but that doesn't seem to be helping the team at all. The other coach under fire is Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin who was once regarded as a prodigal genius but this season he has Shukr with a sub-500 record and they have been shut-out three times in seven games - a new and dubious league record for this point in the season.

- Speaking of that Emaan vs Shukr game, Emaan were so dominant that two of their players Zaid Toorawa and Ahmad Mobin came away with the 1st and 2nd star respectively and Mobin now leads the league in wins.

-  In the Emaan vs Shukr game Coach K and Emaan’s Zuhair Fancy seem to be arranging dinner plans as they were battling for the ball in the corner.

- Staying on the Emaan vs Shukr game, Members of Ikhlas used the results of the game to throw jabs at Shukr in anticipation of the Shukr-Ikhlas matchup tonight. That might not have been the wisest thing to do on Ikhlas’ part seeing that they currently sit last overall and you never want to give extra motivation to a team and goaltender Kaunain Saiyed.  Who will get the “silent treatment” tonight?

- Team-mates Waqar Khan and Zaid Toorawa are 1st and 2nd in overall points and are big reasons why Emaan is the highest scoring team.

- Haya did what no other team has done this season and beat Ihsan powered by Week 7’s third star, Nadeem Faqri.

- Ihsan’s first lost of the season seems to be creating some dissension in their locker room. It would be interesting story to keep your eyes on.

- Another team that has some internal conflict seems to be Sabr. For Sabr they just don’t seem to be handling pressure well at all. They had a excellent opportunity last week to get their first win of the season against a goaltender with relatively little experience but their forwards weren’t simply good enough, only managing to get one goal.

- Rumor has it that Atif Mian will be a healthy scratch this week, he has shown some of the potential scouts raved about but seems to be sliding back into the now infamous assessment that he's two years away from being two years away.

- Haya has been trying to keep this report out of the news but they may be without Huzaifa Manjra in their game tonight

- Yaqeen’s Humza Chaudhry could see his stay as the league leading goal-scoring vanish by the end of the night.

- Four teams have the potential of being 1st overall after tonight: Yaqeen, Ihsan, Emaan and Haya.

- Attention all goaltenders, we recognize your stats are just as important and we know there are huge discrepancies with regards to your individual numbers. If this applies to you please do get in touch with us to help us correct these errors.

Week Seven - November 18th

- After Yousuf Soliman’s outstanding deke and goal on Ikhlas goalie Rahil Ahmed, Ahmed suffered an undisclosed lower body injury and was forced to leave the game.  With no other option, Ikhlas was forced to suit up a player as a goalie, the first time ever in I-Slam history! Usamah Rao was given the difficult task to transition from a forward position to goalie mid-game.  Rao had just earned an assist 30 seconds before stepping into goal where he made 11 saves and allowed just one goal, earning him the 3rd star in Week Six.  At the beginning of Usamah’s debut as a goalie, Ikhlas lacked confidence of this idea but slowly gained momentum as Usamah Rao kept Ikhlas in the game.  Ikhlas were able to score with 17 seconds remaining to tie the game and get their first point of the season

- Uncharacteristically, Yaqeen lacked discipline in their last game which ultimately led to their demise; Shukr capitalized on two of their three power play chances and out-paced Yaqeen in shots 19-7

- Unfortunately for Yaqeen, they wasted Yusuf Kapoor’s stellar effort as he stopped 16 out of the 19 shots he faced. He made some outstanding saves to keep the game close.

- Ahmad Ibrahim of Shukr left last week with an undisclosed injury and remains sidelined for his team’s next game against Emaan, Shukr will hope that "The Mountain" will be fit and ready to play as soon as possible

- Other injury notes to pass your way include initial assessments indicate Rahil Ahmed may be done for the season. If these rumors are true, then this is a huge blow for Ikhlas’ playoff hopes as they drafted Rahil in the first round hoping he would be the backbone of their team. This has left Ikhlas exploring all options including perhaps requesting a trade with Emaan either for their goaltender Ahmad Mobin or Sadiq Rehman (who is playing as a defenseman this season). One would think Umair Ashraf (Ikhlas) would be a part of these conversations. Antother possibility is perhaps Ikhlas goes with what worked and keep Rao in net. By the way he is now the leading vote-getter to start the all-star game as a goalie!

- Haya’s Naem Akhtar has been called out for his poor play. It has been speculated that being separated from Fahad Malik has negatively impacted his game. Last week, he was saved by the heroics of Hisham Ali (1^st Star) who had 2 goals and 1 assist

- After six weeks Ikhlas and Sabr both still remain win-less. Now in Week Seven they face each other in what is clearly a crucial game to help secure a playoff spot. Advantage for now is with Sabr as it remains unknown who will be in net for Ikhlas.

- Haya’s Aazar Zafar has been showing up to his games late. He has an important role for this team but constantly coming well into the first half of games is probably wearing thin on his teammates.   

- Over the past two weeks Arif Bijabhai (Shukr) has been the league’s hottest player; Fresh from coming over 1^st star honors in Week 5, with 2 goals he is the week’s 2^nd star.

- Umair Ashraf may not be available for his team this week in a crucial game as his beard modelling tour has reportedly taken him to Washington DC.  

- A couple of weeks ago, Ihsan made a memorable comeback against Emaan as Sajid Khan scored with 2:48 left to tie the game and then again with six seconds left to give his team the win.  Yousuf Soliman was ecstatic with the comeback win and seemed to relish it over his rivals who teased him leading up to the game, calling him by his nickname of “Drake” and referring to the #ViewsFromSixth Spring Season, Soliman in turn referred to Emaan being flat in the final minutes of the game as their take on the #MannequinChallenge and now video has surfaced showing the final goal which you can view here.  Emaan may not have won any #MannequinChallenge but they need to move with more urgency if they want to win games.

Week Six - November 11th

- Talk of an All-Star game is heating up!  InshaAllah we will have a game with another league, that said for teams that haven’t done recaps I wouldn't get too excited with this news

- For some teams the season is 50% done so it is time to start thinking about the playoffs.

• Last place team does not make it
• First two teams earn a bye to the semis
• 3 v 6; 4 v 5 , one game knockout
• Semis, one game knockout
• Finals, best of 2

Three Stars from Week Five:
1st Star: Arif Bijabhai (Shukr) dropping four goals against Haya
2nd Star: Sajid Khan (Ihsan) scoring goals goals in the dying minutes against Emaan to get the victory for his team
3rd Star: Imran Merchant (Sabr) a huge reason why his team was able to pick up a point against Yaqeen

All three games for Week Six features rematches from earlier on in the season:
Ihsan beat Ikhlas 2-1 in Week One
Yaqeen shut out Shukr 3-0 in Week Three
Haya and Sabr didn’t decide anything in a 2-2 tie

Emaan’s Waqar Khan’s stay at the top of the scoring ladder might be short-lived as his team has the week off.  A big night by Sajid Ayubi against Shukr seems like the most probable situation to dethrone Khan from the top of the leader-board.

-Speaking of Emaan, they were minutes away from winning against Ihsan claiming the league’s top spot then seconds away from a tie to keep them in the top two spots. Now they have a week to figure out where it all went wrong and try to recover from such a massive collapse

-Ihsan earlier relied on Hany Soliman to cover them in the offensive department, but now their scoring has been more evenly distributed throughout their lineup as evident last week as they got three goals from two defensemen in Rayhan Malik and Sajid Khan

-Haya had a 2-0 lead until Idris Deen and Arif Bijabhai went to work leading Shukr to a 5-3 victory

-Ikhlas and Sabr are still searching for their first win. Sabr has less pressure on them as they were able to pick up two points along the way in the forms of ties. Ikhlas on the other hand are coming off a bye week where they have the monumental task of trying to get Win Number One against a team that has yet to lose thus far in Ihsan

-Atif Mian now a member of Emaan, cannot buy a win this season going from winless Ikhlas and losing in his Emaan debut

Week Five - November 4th

- Week Four saw Haya pick-up their first win over a winless Ikhlas, Emaan ride a strong second half for the win while Ihsan dominates Shukr to remain undefeated.

- There has been a lot of “messages” exchanged between members of Ihsan and Emaan with many references to the 2014 Spring Season Championship team (pictured below):

So we decided to do an I-Slam version of ‘Who he play for?’

-Ahmad Ibrahim: plays for Shukr and has 2 assists on the campaign
-Imdad Ali: also plays for Shukr and patrols their blue line
-Zahid Merchant: hasn’t been signed by any teams this season.  But you might be more familiar with his brother Imran Merchant who plays in net for Sabr this season and has been improving each week

- Asad Darr: decided he has nothing left to prove and is enjoying his time off

-Usamah Rao: is in unfamiliar territory now suits up for the winless Ikhlas
-Atif Mian: a late bloomer on the ball-hockey scene is also on winless Ikhlas

-Ahmad Mobin: after a two-year hiatus he is putting up impressive numbers for Emaan

-Ali Murtaza: the gifted forward has yet to register a point for Emaan this season

-Wakaas Khan: also plying his trade for Emaan this season,

-Umair Awan and brother Adeel Awan are part of the GM core for Emanate

-Farrukh Khan and Sajid Khan (no relation) are the main reason to why Ihsan has only allowed 35 shots through three games.

-Zia Ali: bringing his grit and positive energy to Ihsan.

 Thanks for playing!

- A quick point on Shukr, they have been shut out in two straight weeks, first by Yusuf Kapoor of Yaqeen and then by Zaid Majoo of Ihsan; both goalies are having stellar seasons only letting two and three goals respectively in and sporting a save percentage above .900 % (the gold standard)

- Ikhlas is on a bye week and they could use it, the past three weeks they have been out-scored by a 12-3 tally! They have difficulties in scoring goals and their team defense has been struggling which has left goalie Rahil Ahmed exposed without help; something needs to change and they have a week to regroup

- Hany Soliman of Ihsan was held off the scoresheet last week for the first time this season, that said, while the powerforward may not have helped score his hard work kept the focus on him and gave his teammates more space to work with

- While Sabr is still looking for their first win this season, along with Ikhlas, they seem to be improving as in their last two games they had the lead in both games

- After their comeback win over Sabr, there was a strange hissing noise heard from Emaan's dressing room, no word on what was going on in there at this time

- Just so we are all on the same page, there is only one timeout per game.  So get your team to the arena on time to review strategy so burning an early timeout to talk about the plan with latecomers.

- Yousuf Soliman of Ihsan has been working hard this season to erase the debacle of last season from his mind, Soliman (or "Drake" as he is referred to by friends) was the captain for Sabr last season who finished in last as they were 6^th in the table, spurring the hastag #ViewsFromSixth

-The combination of an idle Yaqeen and a red hot Waqar Khan saw a new point leader as Khan posted another multi-goal night to move to the top of the leaderboard while claiming the second star of the week.  

-Haya’s Mehmed Rizvanovic was the first star and Ihsan’s Zaid Majoo the 3rd

-After Week Four  there are three undefeated teams remaining in Yaqeen, Ihsan and Haya

-On the flipside, after Week Four there are two winless teams remaining in Ikhlas and Sabr

-Suspension Notice: Firasath Ali of Yaqeen has been suspended for one game for abuse of a score-keeper.  We value our volunteers and recognizing they gave up their free time to help out with league operations and more importantly try to make the league enjoyable for everyone. In short, verbally abusing a scorekeeper or OC member in the penalty box, on the floor, in the parking lot, on social media is not permitted.  If you have a suggestion or feedback, we recommend you to approach us in a professional manner so we can work together on whatever the issue might be. 

Week Four - October 28th

- Week Three saw Ikhlas continue to dominate as they rolled their record to 3-0, Emaan bounce back from a Week Two loss to rout shorthanded Ikhlas and Sabr get their first point of the season against Haya making their debut

- Haya had the unusual schedule with being off the first two weeks of the season and may have worked against them as while Sabr has struggled to start the year they have two games under their belt to built some chemistry and built a 2-0 lead in the first half.  The second half saw Haya make a comeback as their top line of Aazar Zafar, Hisham Ali and Mehmed Rizvanovic impose their will as the line scored to goals to tie the game up.

- Haya got a better effort from rookie goalie Imran Merchant who is making a transition from being a star softball player.  Merchant is known for his great glove and arm in softball along with being a power switch hitter but only one of those skills will help him in goal.

- Ikhlas knew that going into their game against Emaan it was going to be tough missing two key defensemen in Salman Khalid and Umair Ashraf and it showed especially during the second half when Emaan broke the game open.  Khalid is reportedly overseas in Spain to audition as Cristiano Ronaldo's stunt double.  The absence of Ashraf is unclear as he was said to be in Chicago fulfilling the obligations of his beard modelling contract but rumours circulated that after he advised his team that he intended to take a knee during the opening talk in solidarity with his Cambridge friends and that games opponents he became a healthy scratch.

- Emaan got a big game from Waqar Khan who posted a hat trick against Ikhlas, after his first goal, a teammate commented that Khan looked like he was a video game player who was on speed burst after blowing by the defense to score.  Furqan Salam had a big game with a goal and three assists while Zaid Toorawa added a goal and two assists as Emaan's top line did all of the damage in this game.

- Ikhlas has seen their offense struggle out of the game with only three goals in their first three game, observers are looking for Atif Mian to provide a greater spark to the team but he has come into the season with conditioning issues.  When he first joined the league he was described as being two years away from being two years away so he should have blossomed into a star by now.

- Lost in the winless start for Ikhlas has been the play of Rahil Ahmed who has kept his team from being blown out in all their games and while the scoreline last week may not reflect it, Ahmed kept his team in it until the second half where Emaan scored multiple breakaway goals or converted odd man rushes.  Ahmed came into the season as one of the stronger goalies and gives his team a chance to win any night.

- Yaqeen came into the season with a a number of talented young players with strong veterans to support them and the result has been a dominant 3-0 start to the season.  In their game last week, Humza Chaudhry, Arslan Mian and Sajjid Ayubi were a force as they tore through the Shukr defense for chance after chance.

- Shukr were missing some depth on defense but their system along with the play of Kaunain Saiyed kept the game within reach the entire way.  Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin was the player of the game for his team as he carried his teams defense core once again.

- Next week sees Yaqeen on a bye as all other teams hope the break cools them off, Ikhlas faces Haya where a win gets Ikhlas out of the basement.  Emaan faces Sabr where the former looks to jump into a first place tie with a win.  Ihsan faces Shukr where Ihsan is also looking to jump into a first place tie with a win -Coach K has stated that he will hold Ihsan's Amir Multani in check tonight.

- Finally a reminder that home teams are responsible for recaps, for players that complain they don't see their name in lights enough consider this an opportunity to tell everyone how great you are.

Week Three - October 21st

-Home Teams are responsible for recaps. Week 3 Home Teams: Haya, Emaan and Yaqeen

-Trade deadline has been set to November 23rd at 7:00 pm. Will a gm be bold enough to break up their core group if it means giving their team a better shot at the championship?

-Contrary to popular belief, all teams don’t make the playoffs. The last place team goes home. Also the first two teams get a bye.

-There has been talk of doing an all-star game with another league. This is to first and foremost reward attendance (need to play at least 7 games to qualify) and top performers of the regular season. Talks have been preliminary so keep making dua!

-How good has Hany Soliman (IHSN) been? 2 straight weeks being selected by the refs as one of the three stars; Week 1’s First Star and Week 2’s Third Star. Scoring 4 of his teams 5 goals. Nothing seems to be slowing him down so maybe being off in Week 3 does the rest of the league a favour

- WEEK 2 2ND STAR: YAQEEN- Humza Chaudry 3G, GWG

- WEEK 2 1ST STAR: Shukr- Idris Deen, 3G & 1 A

-You snooze you lose Mr. Soliman. Yaqeen’s Hamza Chaudry gets a chance to take the lead in the goal scoring race.

-As mentioned in the previews Yaqeen has been one of the most if not the most impressive teams we seen so far this season.

-On that note, we haven’t see Haya. Welcome to the show! What you have for us? Huzaifa Manjra ran the table last year picking up two I-slam championships. He begins the quest to remind the league that this is still his kingdom.

-I feel obliged to mention that Ihsan’s Zaid Majoo came up with 2 break away saves to help preserve the victory for Ihsan. You probably didn’t read about it though because of the jerk move. Another friendly reminder that Home teams are responsible for recaps.

-Emaan’s Zaid Toorawa and Umair Awan has notched 2 goals in 2 games.

-This team seems to be drawing a lot of penalties; After going 0-5 on the PP in Week 1, Emaan had some success on the PP in Week 2.

-Ikhlas’ Salman Khalid will be in Spain. Huge blow to Ikhlas this week

-Shukr put up 6 goals against Sabr. The most by any team so far.

-Sabr has had a poor star. Luckily for them they Ikhlas also haven’t won either. Both teams are desperate to get out of the basement and get their seasons back on track.

Week Two - October 14th

-At the draft goaltenders were at a high premium 5 of the 7 goaltenders gone by round 3.

-Konain Saiyed (Shukr) down but not out came up with a ridiculous glove save

-Waqar Khan (Emaan) had a game to forget with an own goal almost costing his team. Lucky for him, team mate Zaid Toorawa capitalize on a poor clearing attempt from Shukr.

-Gotta feel bad for Shukr, sometimes the better team does not necessarily win; outplayed Emaan in Week 1 but ultimately lost the game

- Imran Merchant (Sabr) had a rough start to his I-Slam career. Again chicken or the egg? Did the Sabr defense support him well enough?

-Arif Bijabhai (Shukr) is this year’s 1st overall pick. There is a lot of pressure that comes with it. Not only are you a targeted player but you need to out-perform the entire league to justify that tag. Held pointless in Week 1

-Shukr is hoping Arif Bijabhai & Idris Deen , the first two picks in this year’s draft are able to become a dynamic duo
.
-According to a survey administered shortly after the draft, voters believe Ihsan is well poised to host the championship in a couple of months. Some believe, Emaan, Yaqeen & Haya are also contenders. Being written off at the start are Shukr, Ikhlas and Sabr, all three lost their opening game.

-Player that have new teams:
1) Ikhlas trades Walied Soliman to Ihsan for Hasan Khalid
2) Haya trades Tayyab Kalair & Asim Hussain to Yaqeen for Rehan Rehan Majid Lakhani & Munaf Nathalia

3) Mubashir Malik clears waivers, he replaces Ali Malik on Sabr

-Ahmad Hathout made a special appearance and after watching Waqar Khan (Emaan) play it was off in his batmobile to save Gotham.

-Sabr needs to be better, 11 shots won’t cut it. Likewise for Ikhals, THREE shots in a half, there is no excuse/

-Seriously, it goes against all logic... how did Emaan win against Shukr?

-If Week 1 is any indication Week ONE 3RD STAR Rahil Ahmed goaltender for Ikhlas will be a busy man this season

- WEEK ONE 2ND STAR: Sajjid Ayubi (YAQEEN) putting up 1G & 2A against Sabr

- WEEK 1 1ST STAR- Hany Soliman (IHSAN)- 2 Goals with one being the GWG

Week Sixteen - Spring Season Wrap-Up

- Game Two of the finals ended regulation in a 2-2 tie and pushed to Overtime where Yousuf Sowdagar scored with just 41 seconds left to give Emaan the Championship.  Haya built a 2-0 lead off goals from Farooq Sani and Waqar Khan but Emaan kept up the pressure and a power play goal from Huzaifa Manjra with just under 10 minutes left in regulation gave them a lifeline leading to Gehad Al-Hundi scoring the equalizer with just over a minute left to tie it up.

- Both teams had their full squads out for the championship game, for Haya this included injured players Rayhan Malik and Ozair Naveed, both key players for the Haya who shuffled players around to cover the gaps.  An observer noted the atmosphere for Haya was great to have injured players continue to attend games in street clothes to coach/cheer their teammates on.

Here are your 2016 Spring Season Champions, Emaan:

- Emaan made a great comeback in this game but had some breaks go their way as Haya missed a chance from their third line to make it 3-1 late in the game as some great cycling of the ball resulted in a pair of open chances in front of the net that Khalid Mufti turned away.  Then to open overtime, Azhar Kalair had his one-timer graze the outside of the post.

- Arif Bijabhai wins back to back Spring Season championships and both times with Emaan.  A bit of a rocky start to his season after being the top pick in the draft and being dealt after his early season struggles but he bounced back as expected to contribute to Emaan's championship.

- An interesting season comes to a close, some unforgettable story lines over the season kept us entertained and Ihsan was the source of much of the material.  With Ahmad "Batman" Hathout and Amir Multani working hard to get their names in the headlines week after week.  The fall of the Dark Knight was noted last week as he took playoff elimination hard, this week it was discovered that Multani has taken refuge here to try and discover how to get his game back on track.

Award Winners for the season were announced after the Championship Game and here they are:
Islamic Relief Regular Season MVP: Yousuf Sowdagar
Best Defensive Forward: Farooq Sani
Best Defenseman: Luqman Arshad
Top Rookie: Idris Deen
Most Improved Player: Jaudat Wasty
Top Forward: Yousuf Sowdagar
Best Goaltender: Zaid Majoo
Naseem Buttar General Manager Award: Zuhair Fancy
Brotherhood Awards: Ahmad Ibrahim and Azhar Kalair
Playoff MVP: Khalid Mufti

Congratulations again to Emaan and thank you to everyone who participated this season and to players who were teased here and took it in stride.  InshAllah we will see everyone back for the Fall Season so stay tuned for registration details later in the summer.

Week Fifteen - June 3

- Game One of the finals saw Emaan come in shorthanded but fend off Haya’s full squad to a end in a 1-1 draw.  Emaan got off to a strong start scoring just 35 seconds into the game as Arif Bijabhai snapped in a shot from the slot set up by Ibrahim Hindy.  Haya kept pressing and Waqar Khan tied the game in the second half after converting a pass from Farooq Sani.  The goalies were the stars the rest of the way as Khalid Mufti and Kaunain Saiyed shut the door.

- Emaan were missing a few players and the result was longer shifts for their stars, Yousuf Sowdagar in particular seemed to play the entire game on defence and was understandably exhausted by the end.

- Haya was almost playing without captain Waqar Khan as he was being coerced to skip his game to play in another tournament by Ahmad Hathout, thankfully for his Haya teammates Khan turned down the request from the Dark Knight.

- Speaking of Ahmad Hathout, after the elimination of Ihsan stories are now flowing out about the team and the disappointment of not making it to the finals.  Hathout in particular is said to be upset, he spent a significant amount of time practicing handshakes with teammates which is now wasted time.  He is said to have modelled the sequence after this video.

- Sources indicate that Huzaifa Manjra of Emaan missed his game as it occurred on his birthday and he was out celebrating with friends.  Manjra’s large red van was seem roaming various shisha establishments throughout the night.

- Players on Haya commented that after facing Arif Bijabhai for the fifth time this season, he seemed to be much more comfortable around his opponents as he reportedly kept telling them that he was hungry for fish pakora during the game - although it was not clear if he was trying to get someone to accompany him to go eat some afterwards or just letting them know.

- Back to Ahmad Hathout, it is established that he has taken his elimination hard, this picture was captured of him out running errands last week, a sad fall from the top for the Batman.

- Despite having ended in a 1-1 tie after game one, Emaan is said to be confident that the championship is still theirs with the expected return of key players for Game Two.  Haya gave their best shot in Game One and it wasn’t enough to knock down their top seeded opponents.

- Award winners will be announced after the game so come out for the championship game and the announcement for the Regular Season Award Winners.

Player of the Game Video’s:
Emaan vs Haya - Khalid Mufti (not available)

Week Fourteen - May 27th

- Wild finish for the Semi-Finals saw Emaan hang on to defeat Ihsan while Shukr gutted out a win over Haya only to lose in a shootout.

- Emaan and Ihsan opened the night with a wild one, Nadeem Faqiri scored just 11 seconds into the game only to have Emaan tie it up a couple of minutes later.  Ihsan then scored a pair of quick goals to make it 3-1 only to have Emaan tie the game within two minutes.  Ihsan again took a 4-3 lead as Faqiri completed his hat-trick but Emaan had their top line score a pair of goals to take a 5-4 lead.  An Ihsan goal with a second left made it 5-5 but not enough as they needed a win to force overtime.

- Shukr worked for a 2-1 win to force overtime which solved nothing sending the series to a shootout.  Waqar Khan scored the only goal in the shootout while Kaunain Saiyed stopped all three Shukr shooters to send his team to the finals.

- In the aftermath of Ihsan losing there were a number of questions about the status of their top player as Ahmad Hathout was reportedly very disappointed with an early exit.  Having come off winning a Fall Championship, the Dark Knight was said to be eager to repeat the feat.  Post-game a player from Emaan circulated this picture presumably to cap off their defeat of Batman:

- After losing Game One the pressure was on Shukr and to add to the challenge they were without defenseman Sadat Malik while Naiem Malik and Nadeem Qureshi played with injuries.  Goalie Yasir Hussain was in danger of missing the game but changed his travel plans for a family wedding in order to play.  A player from Shukr described the various acts made to make the game as a testament to the teams devotion to Coach K that they would go to such lengths to keep battling for him.

- Haya has received an inspired effort from goalie Kaunain Saiyed in the playoffs as he is said to be motivated by not being considered in the running for the Goalie of the Year Award.  His play has certainly been noteworthy getting a shutout against Shukr in Game One and then shutting the door in Overtime and Shootout against Shukr again in Game Two to carry his team into the finals.

- After Shukr’s loss, there was some question as to whether Nadeem Qureshi would be calling it a career once again.  After losing his “retirement match” against Coach K from the last Spring Season he was expected to hang it up but came back to ironically play for Coach K this season.  Qureshi did a short lap around the arena after the handshake line with Ahmad Hathout  and Shoaib Bhatti asking him if this was the end of the line.  Qureshi didn’t have a final answer but reflected on the “I Quit” game he won against Bhatti who was forced into retirement before returning this season.

- Looking to the finals, Emaan comes in confident of an eventual championship and why not?  They blew Haya out twice during both regular season meetings by a 5-1 and 7-4 scores.  They have the top three scorers in the league with Yousuf Sowdagar (34 points), Gehad Alhundi (32 points) and Ibrahim Hindy (20 points).  An unreal scoring pace that no team has been able to keep up with or contain.  They have first overall pick Arif Bijabhai playing on the second line showing how gifted and deep they are offensively.

Player of the Game Video’s:
Emaan vs Ihsan - Gehad Alhundi (not available)
Haya vs Shukr - Kaunain Saiyed (not available)

Video Recaps:
Emaan vs Ihsan Game Two (pending)
Haya vs Shukr Game Two (pending)

Week Thirteen - May 20th

- Week Twelve kicked off the playoffs, Ihsan defeated Ikhlas in the wildcard game that featured a close finish, the SemiFinals saw Haya squeak out a 1-0 win over Shukr while Emaan dominated Ihsan to win Game One of their series.

- The night opened with Ihsan winning the wildcard game, a win guaranteed by Ahmad Hathout.  Ihsan held a 1-0 lead at the half and built a commanding 4-0 lead before Ikhlas suddenly found their groove scoring three goals in under six minutes to make it 4-3 with 1:59 left.  Some careless penalties from Ihsan give Ikhlas a powerplay for the final minutes and but did enough to hold on for the win.

- Haya managed to grind out a 1-0 win over Shukr in a game where the goalies were both strong.  Coach K came in with a plan to contain Waqar Khan and post game pointed to his success in that regard as Khan was held pointless.  In the final minute, Shukr pulled their goalie and was buzzing around the net but some critical blocked shots by Farrukh Khan who sacrificed his body kept Shukr from converting a goalmouth opportunity.

- Emaan had their top line dominate Ihsan over the course of the game, Ihsan did hold 1-0 and 2-1 leads but were not able to shut down Emaan’s offence and were under siege in the second half.  Ihsan attributed their struggles to tired legs having just come off their wildcard game but they will have to play a perfect game if they want to compete in Game Two against Emaan.

- Haya has been up and down offensively of late and with Shukr’s Coach K having success in containing the top line for Haya, it was Shoaib Bhatti who provided the games only goal.  The veteran pulled a crafty move as he scooped a pass from Huzaifa Shahid from behind the net and quickly stepped out front and snapped it in before Shukr goalie Yasir Hussain could get across.

- Ihsan has a mountain to climb against Emaan, not helping the cause is the play of Amir Multani, the gifted forward seemed lost in both playoff games last week and if he cannot get in gear then Ihsan is not going to have any chance to win.

- Haya suffered another injury against Shukr last week, when they met in the last week of the regular season, Rayhan Malik’s season was ended with a slash from Aazar Zafar that broke his toe.  Last week Ozair Naveed was cut down and is going to miss the rest of the playoffs with a fracture in his foot.

- Coach K reportedly took the video of his teams game against Haya to review it in detail, his defensive schemes were strong and they limited Haya to just 14 shots but he wanted to plan a strategy on breaking down Haya’s defence having been shutout.

- Emaan vs Ihsan also featured a battle between family as Akif Waheed faced off against Zain Khilji. While Khilji saw his team get the win, Waheed scored a personal victory as late in the game he caught Khilji with his head down in the middle and laid him out.  Waheed seemed to soak it in with Humza Waheed and Asim Waheed cheering from the stands.

- Sadiq Rehman made an appearance last week as the goalie came down to watch some playoff action.  He was expected to backstop Sabr to the post season but an ankle injury caused by a wrestling mishap with Wahhaj Salam ended his season prematurely and contributed to the struggles for Sabr as they missed the playoffs.

- Most players grow a beard during the playoff season - not really practical for this league where many players already sport facial hair.  Waqar Khan went a different direction by shaving his head and prior to Haya’s win, Umair Ashraf was caught trying to rub Khan’s head for good luck.

- It is well known that Ahmad Hathout prefers to be referred to as his alter ego, Batman or the Dark Knight, but he has now started to give nicknames to teammates in an attempt to motivate them - or he doesn’t remember their names and he finds this easier.  Ahmad Ibrahim is now Bane (presumably for his physical strength) while Mohammed Hamoud is Deadshot (his big slap-shot speaks for itself), Amir Multani has been monikered the Riddler.

- A Twitter Poll was created and those who voted were correct in two of the three results.  Fans picked Ihsan to upset Ikhlas and Emaan to defeat the winner of Ikhlas/Ihsan which both were bang on.  The third poll saw Shukr get picked to defeat Haya and were it not for the heroics of Kaunain Saiyed the polls could have been a clean sweep.

Player of the Game Video’s:
Ikhlas vs Ihsan - Mohammed Hamoud (not available)
Haya vs Shukr - Kaunain Saiyed with a shutout in Haya's win over Shukr
Emaan vs Ihsan - Yousuf Sowdagar (not available)

Video Recaps:
Ikhlas vs Ihsan (pending)
Haya vs Shukr (pending)
Emaan vs Ihsan (pending)

Week Twelve - May 13th

- Week Eleven didn't do much to change the playoff picture but allowed teams to get one last game in before the playoff season begins.

- Shukr made a point of locking down Ihsan who has been playing well as of late defeating them 4-1 with the shutout only spoiled by a late goal from Nadeem Faqiri.  Coach K came in saying that he knew how to shut down Ahmad Hathout and Amir Multani and he backed it up with both players held off the scoresheet.

- Sabr came in knowing their season was over having been eliminated from the playoffs the week before, the surprise was only five players and their goalie showed up.  The combination of Ahmad Kaiss, Baseer Khan, Salman Alvi, Hamza Akram and Mazhar Hussain along with goalie Fraz Khan were forced to play the entire game and put up a good fight against Haya.  The team was only down 2-0 at the half and manufactured a number of chances themselves with Alvi scoring to give Sabr a moral victory.  The final score was 6-1 but hardly tells the tale of the brave “Sabr Six”.

- Emaan finish the season with the top three scorers in the league and fourth on the list being distantly behind.  Their offense is loaded with not one being able to keep up with their top line and have one of the best goalies around so everything is looking up for this team after a first place finish.

- Shukr already had a strong coaching staff with Coach K but he has reportedly added Faisal Malik to his bench staff.  Malik was spotted on the bench last week during Shukr’s win over Ihsan and the veteran will only help this squad as they look toward a long playoff run.

- Haya discovered that they may have a minor celebrity on their team last week as it was revealed that Umair Ashraf has been doing some modelling gigs of late as he works to get into the lucrative “Beard Model” industry.

- Ihsan is counting on Ahmad Hathout, AKA Batman, to guide them in the playoffs.  His slow start long behind him, he carried his team to a pair of critical wins late in the season that got them to the playoffs.  Hathout has redemption on his mind after failing on his promise to set the record for fastest goal to start a game (0/10) and losing out on his quest to lead the league in scoring for the third season in a row.  When asked about Ihsan’s playoff prospects, Hathout replied, “The night is darkest just before the dawn.  And I promise you, the dawn is coming” #DarkKnightRises

- Ikhlas is another team that started slow but picked up key wins late in the season to get them into fourth place.  The play of Humza Chaudhry has been key as the young gun has flashed the brilliant potential everyone expected and finished the season 4th in league scoring.

- Aazar Zafar had a whirlwind couple of days as after getting Player of the Game honours in Shukr’s win over Ihsan, Zafar flew to Miami to watch the Raptors win Game Three of their playoff series.

- Playoffs start with Ihsan and Ikhlas facing off in a wildcard game, the winner will advance to play Emaan an hour later in Game One of the Semi-Finals.  The two regular season games between the teams saw Ikhlas win 7-0 and the teams tie 0-0.  Since then lots has changed for both teams with trades and injury replacements so this will be a wild one to watch.

- Haya and Shukr meet in the other Semi-Final where the teams split season series and while they are evenly matched, Coach K gives Shukr an edge as he has stated that he knows how to contain Waqar Khan.

- Emaan has no clue who to prepare for in their Semi-Final but know that they’ll be getting a tired team regardless and played well against both Ikhlas and Ihsan so are favoured to win Game One.

2016 Spring Season Award Nominees:
In alphabetical order

Islamic Relief Regular Season MVP:
Saleem Malik, Waqar Khan, Yousuf Sowdagar

Best Defensive Forward:
Idris Deen, Farooq Sani, Saleem Malik

Best Defenseman:
Farrukh Khan, Luqman Arshad, Salman Khalid

Top Rookie:
Idris Deen, Huzaifa Shahid, Waqas Kayani

Most Improved Player:
Haris Mallick, Jaudat Wasty, Ozair Naveed

Top Foward:
Ahmad Hathout, Waqar Khan, Yousuf Sowdagar

Best Goaltender:
Khalid Mufti, Yasir Hussain, Zaid Majoo

Naseem Buttar General Manager Award:
Fuzail Thakur, Kashif Taqiuddin, Zuhair Fancy

Brotherhood Award:
Ahmad Ibrahim, Azhar Kalair, Emad Hussain, Luqman Arshad

Week Eleven - May 6th

- Week Ten saw the playoff picture clear up, Ikhlas and Ihsan both won their games putting the pressure on Sabr to win to keep the race alive but their loss results in their elimination.

- Emaan came into Week Ten knowing they had already wrapped up first place and attributed their loss to Ikhlas as the expected letdown as they really don’t have much to play for at this point.  Ikhlas on the other hand needed to come out strong and the win kept them in 4th place

- Ihsan is heating up at the right time, with their big 1-0 win over Shukr last week the team is now undefeated in their last four games and have clinched the 5th seed for the playoffs.  The early struggles seem long gone as the teams’ “Dark Knight” Ahmad Hathout has found his rhythm.  He was shut out last week and falls to 0/9 in his quest to score the fastest goal but his contributions to the teams success are clear.

- With Haya’s struggles well documented of late, they got a late surprise boost as Waqar Khan made his return against Sabr last week.  Khan had just returned from an overseas trip and with limited rest showed up to lead his team to their first win in five games and as a result lock up a top three finish.

- Saqib Khokhar got the winner for Ikhlas against his old team, Emaan, which was surely a bit of sweet revenge for the quick forward who was part of the surprise trade for Arif Bijabhai earlier this season.

- Shukr lost their first game since Kashif Taqiuddin was lost for the season due to injury.  The team knows that they will still have Coach K behind the bench but he was the teams leading scorer and played heavy minutes holding the defence together so the team will need to fill that gap right before the playoffs begin.

- Players from Haya noted that with the return of Waqar Khan suddenly other players were hanging around the dressing room to be near him.  Sajid Khan of Sabr going as far as to change for his game in Haya's dressing room while Wakaas Khan, Ahmad Hathout and Amir Multani all awkwardly hung around trying to chat up Haya's captain.  

- Not to be forgotten in the recent run for Ihsan is the performance of Zaid Majoo who incredibly picked up his fourth shutout for the team.  Majoo has given the team confidence to push forward aggressively knowing that he will bail them out.

- Sabr went into their game against Haya knowing that only a win would keep their playoff hopes alive, but a short bench to start the game allowed Haya to take an early lead.  Sabr did fight back and managed to tie the game with 47 seconds left in the first half but penalties hurt them as Azhar Kalair scored his second Powerplay goal of the game to give Haya the win.

- With the loss Sabr is now eliminated from postseason play, no denying the talent this team has but injuries and player absences cost them points and they were never able to recover.  One game remains which is a rematch with Haya but a win still leaves the team in last place.  #ViewsFromSixth

Player of the Game Video’s:
Shukr vs Ihsan - Not Available as the team was busy celebrating their playoff spot
Ikhlas vs Emaan - Not Available as the team was busy celebrating their playoff spot
Haya vs Sabr - Not Available as the team was busy celebrating their playoff spot

Week Ten - April 29th

- Week Nine saw Ihsan salvage a tie with Emaan, Shukr pile on the misery for Haya and Sabr and Ikhlas end in a tie in a game both desperately wanted to win.

- Emaan was coasting to another win which would have clinched them first place but a late goal from Salman Khalid got Ihsan the tie.  A crucial point for Ihsan as they are in a fight for a playoff spot.  Emaan is in the drivers seat to clinch first place and no matter what happens already have a top-two finish locked up.

- Haya suffered another loss, their fourth in a row but even worse a big injury issue as Rayhan Malik took a slash during the game that has resulted in a broken bone in his foot and will cost him the rest of the season.  Malik has been a bright spot for Haya this season and the team will be in a scramble to try and replace his contributions to the team.  The loss of Malik will also break up the Ernie and Bert combination he has with Shoaib Bhatti on Haya.

- Ihsan has received a boost with the appearance of Amir Multani who has found his game.  GM Fuzail Thakur was said to be extremely concerned that the enigmatic Multani was struggling so much but after last week, Thakur was seen taking down these signs he had posted around the city.

- Shukr got a critical win last week but at a heavy price as reports are circulating that Kashif Taqiuddin suffered a calf injury that may keep him out for the rest of the season.  A big loss for Shukr losing their leader on the floor but the silver lining is that they will still have Coach K behind the bench and with him focused on one role now expect this team to be even better organized than before.

- The early struggles for Ihsan seem long gone with a win and tie in their last two games and the team starting to gel together.  Ahmad Hathout has found a rhythm with 8 points in his last 3 games - but 0/8 in his pledge to score the fastest goal to start a game.

- Sabr was clinging to a 1-0 lead late in their game against Ikhlas but the latter scored to even it up with just 29 seconds left.  The win would have put Sabr into a playoff spot and dropped Ikhlas to last, instead Ikhlas holds onto 4th place and Sabr is in a fight to get out of last.

- Arif Bijabhai will look to the final two games of the season as an opportunity to show his former team that it was a mistake to trade him as he goes up against Ikhlas.  In four games with Ikhlas he had zero points and his team did not win a game with a combined score of 16-4 over the four games.  Since joining Emaan and being placed on their second line he has 6 points in four games and his team is undefeated.

- The final two weeks has teams in a home and home series with Emaan/Ikhlas, Shukr/Ihsan and Haya/Sabr facing off and each series having a direct impact on the playoff picture.

Player of the Game Video's have been posted:
Shukr vs Haya - Not available as Coach K is keeping his players away from the media
Ihsan vs Emaan - Tariq Hathout with a solid two-way performance against 1st place Emaan
Sabr vs Ikhlas - Not available

Week Nine - April 22nd

- Week Nine saw Emaan build their lead in the race for first, Ikhlas picked up a huge win over Sabr to jump into 4th while Ihsan gets their first win of the season

- Ihsan opened the night with their first win of the season as they took down Haya whose tailspin continues.  Ahmad Hathout is starting to find his groove with a pair of power play goals to lead his team - although he's now 0/7 on his promise to set the record for fastest goal.

- Ikhlas pulled off a huge win against Sabr which jumps them out of last and up to 4th place.  Their youth movement continues to play well as Humza Chaudhry put up a pair of goals while Arslan Mian netted the game winner.  Ikhlas now has two wins in their last three games, the struggles that started the season seem far behind them now.

- Despite their struggles, Haya was thankful for goalie Kaunain Saiyed played through an injury to ensure that his team did not have an empty net against Ihsan.

- Shukr didn’t win their game against Emaan but Coach K was commended for a strong effort, scoring his teams only goal and he has six points in his teams last four games.

- The struggles for Amir Multani continue as he has yet to get a goal and picked up what were described as a pair of phantom assists in his last game against Haya for his first points of the season.  Ihsan GM Fuzail Thakur has been trying different things to get Multani going but to no avail.  Despite the struggles, Multani has made guarantees of leading his team to the playoffs and a championship.

- Zaid Majoo continued great play for Ihsan as he got the shutout in a 3-0 win and this was his third shutout in four games while playing for Ihsan so they have to be excited about the teams prospects as the playoffs approach.

Player of the Game Videos have been posted:
Ihsan vs Haya - Zaid Majoo with the shutout as Ihsan gets their first win
Emaan vs Shukr - Khalid Mufti with a great performance in net as Emaan wins
Ikhlas vs Sabr - not available

Week Eight - April 15th

- Week Eight saw Emaan win again, Shukr jump into 2nd and Ihsan letting a 3-0 lead slip away to end with a tie and remain in last.

- Emaan's offense was expected to be lethal and the addition of Arif Bijabhai only increased their potency.  Their top line is leading the league in scoring and while they get significant amount of playing time they have produced.

- Ihsan felt like they were on the verge of their first win as they built a 3-0 lead over Sabr but seemed to let up and ended in a 3-3 tie.  Good news was that Ahmad Hathout broke out with his first points of the season with a goal and an assist - although 0/6 in his quest for fastest goal.  Amir Multani had some jump but remained pointless again and GM Fuzail Thakhur will need to find a way to get Multani on track.

- Haya had to use Sameer Subedar on short notice to fill in for regular goalie Kaunain Saiyed who was injured the previous week against Emaan after a taking a hit to the chest.  Subedar had just played a tough game for Shukr (earning a shutout) and played back-to-back yet was able to make some great saves in a losing effort for Haya.

- While on the topic of goalies, Fraz Khan made his return from injury and looked solid.  While his team had a 3-0 lead and ended in a 3-3 tie, it could easily have been a loss were it not for the glove hand of Khan who made a pair of spectacular saves in the final minute to preserve the tie.  Ironically, a few days after his effort to preserve Ihsan’s tie against Sabr he was plucked as compensation by Sabr and will now look to keep his new team in a playoff spot with some big games coming up.

- Haya has struggled without Captain Waqar Khan who has gone AWOL on his team.  Initially it was thought that he went looking for his jersey but some have suggested his search is for something much more important...#WifeSearch2016

- The next couple of weeks will be tense between Ikhlas and Sabr who face each other for a pair of games.  With Sabr just a point ahead of Ikhlas in the standings this will be critical for the teams to get a grip on a playoff spot.

- It’s not clear who is sick of who at this point, but Arif Bijabhai has faced Haya four times this season, twice with Ikhlas and twice as part of Emaan.  While his first two games he was shut out, the last two he put up three goals and three assists.  An observer joked that Sabr should make a trade for Bijabhai as they have two games left against Haya and could give the forward the chance to face the same team six times.  Another noted that Bijabhai is getting the Stamkos treatment as Emaan is using him on their second line.

- Sadeq Rehman was lost to Sabr for the season with an ankle injury and while the details around the injury are unclear, reports indicate that in a playful wrestling match with Wahhaj Salam where the youngster applied the Ken Shamrock Ankle Lock submission move went too far.  Rehman refused to tap out and the result is an end to his season.

Player of the Game Videos have been posted:
Shukr vs Ikhlas - Not Available
Emaan vs Haya - Arif Bijabhai with three goals and an assist
Sabr vs Ihsan - Shuaib Hussein with two goals and an assist

Week Seven - April 8th

- Week Seven saw Emaan jump back into first, Shukr get a solid grip on 3rd while moving them within reach of a top-two spot and Ikhlas picked up their first win and jumped past Ihsan into 5th.

- The night opened with Ihsan going into a critical game against Ikhlas with an empty net as Fraz Khan continues to recover from injury.  The result was a devastating 7-0 loss that dropped Ihsan into 6th place.

- Emaan recovered from their blowout loss to Sabr a week earlier to control their game against Haya and get a 5-1 win.  Leaving nothing to chance in a game that would decide first place, Emaan rolled out their top line often and the strategy worked as the double-shifts allowed for mismatches that they were able to exploit.  Yousuf Sowdagar finished with 3 goals and an assist while Gehad Alhundi had three assists.  Arif Bijabhai looked good in his debut with a pair of assists.

- For Ihsan the defeat was demoralising on multiple levels, Amir Multani and Ahmad Hathout were shut out again which has observers stunned.  Suffice to say Hathout is now 0/5 in his quest to break the record for fastest goal but to have these two players struggling so mightily is a shock - and one of the key factors in the teams struggle.

- Haya was missing captain Waqar Khan last week with some confusion as to where he was with one observer suggesting he had gone looking for his league jersey in Bangladesh where they were made as Haya had a few sent in at the beginning of the season to have the size corrected and they never returned.

- Ikhlas had a rough start to their season but things are looking up and one of their key players in Humza Chaudhry is finding his groove.  The young winger have five goals and an assist in his past two games - production that many expected from him and now that he is starting to pick it up look for Ikhlas to start winning more.

- Shukr got a boost with the debut of Sadat Malik who was dealing with an injury and missed the first four games of the season.  He finished the game with an assist and looks like a fit for the system Shukr plays under Coach K who must be relieved to have some help as he has been carrying this team all season.

- Umair Ashraf was another player missing for Haya last week, reportedly he was off celebrating his successful contribution to the MAX Gala Awards where he served as MC.  Many praised the work of Ashraf at this event and noted that he handled the pressure better than he has during his I-Slam Debut where he….anyhow credit also goes to Aazar Zafar of Shukr as the driving force behind this great event.

- Sabr took a blow before their game when it was revealed that Osama Soliman has an injured finger and was forced to withdraw.  He will be replaced by Shuaib Hussein who has played with some of Sabr’s key players before and will be under pressure to replace the production of Soliman who had put up 6 points in four games.

- Shukr got a big win over Sabr last week which gives them a firm grip on 3rd place and just a win away from first place.  Coach K had high expectations for his team and a top two finish was part of that plan so he seems to be getting his team to where they were expected to finish as the season progresses.

- In the big win Ikhlas had last week over Ihsan, the effort of Rayhan Taqiuddin stood out for some additional praise, he used his body to wear down opposing players and a big collision with Ihsan forward Ahmad Ibrahim left the latter down for a short time.  Taqiuddin was credited with some solid back-checking on the Ihsan forwards in helping to limit Amir Multani and Ahmad Hathout and added an empty net goal in the final minute of his teams big win which jumped them out of last and into 5th place.

- There are reports that there will be a bit of a goalie shortage this week with some minor knocks taking net minders out for the week, expect to see Sumeer Subedar, Zaid Majoo and Sheraz Mahmood filling in for teams in need.

Player of the Game Videos have been Posted:
Ikhlas vs Ihsan - Humza Chaudhry (video not available)
Emaan vs Haya - Yousuf Sowdagar (video not available)
Shukr vs Sabr - Aazar Zafar with three goals in the win

Week Six - April 1st

- Week Five saw a Haya make a surprising jump into first place, Sabr get their first win and the Ikhlas struggles continue

- Ihsan was hoping to get a win against Haya but found themselves facing an uphill battle as Nadeem Faqiri was not available and Amir Multani was a late scratch due to fitness after predicting a big game for himself.

- A common theme last week was missing goalies, while Sabr and Ihsan used Zaid Majoo as a fill-in, Shukr was not so lucky and forced Coach K to be creative in his teams game against Ikhlas.  In a masterstroke, Coach K convinced Akib Malik to suit up as a goalie and the former best defensive forward got the job done, backstopping his team to a 4-2 win.

- Haya was predicted to have penalty issues this season with Rayhan Malik and Farrukh Khan in the lineup but over their first three games both players stayed out of trouble.  That changed last week against Ihsan where both players took two minors each and forced Haya to kill numerous penalties.

- Ahmad Hathout remains without a point this season, one of the major factors as Ihsan has stumbled out of the gate.  The two time scoring champion has had chances but has not been able to finish anything, also he is now 0/4 in his promise to set the record for fastest goal in a game.

- Sabr pulled off a 7-2 rout of Emaan where Hany Soliman finished with 3 goals and 2 assists and Osama Soliman had 2 goals and 3 assists.  Salman Alvi also finished with 2 goals and 2 assists in a dominant game.

- Shukr was expecting to have Sadat Malik back last week from injury but he was not ready at game time so Coach K shouldered the load patrolling the blue line against Ikhlas.

- Zaid Majoo pulled a rare back-to-back performance where he backstopped Sabr to a 7-2 win before losing to Haya 2-1.  He was strong in both games and considering he had just finished playing, was sharp against Haya and his quick glove hand shut down a 5-on-3 power play advantage for Haya.  Both teams had reached out to Sheraz Mahmood but Sheraz Bhai was not able to play forcing Majoo into double-duty.  

- After Emaan and Ikhlas both lost last week, they made a blockbuster trade with Arif Bijabhai and Saqib Sheikh moving to Emaan in exchange for Saqib Khokar and Imran Lakhanpal.  Bijabhai is the best player in the deal despite his struggles this season and Sheikh may be an underrated add on as he is a strong defensive center that can help Emaan down the middle.  In Khokar and Lakhanpal, Ikhlas is hoping for some veteran leadership and versatility as both players are able to play on the blue line - the glaring deficiency for Ikhlas this season.

- The league was on a bye for March 25th, which lined up perfectly for Ahmad Hathout who organized a team outing to watch the new Superman vs Batman movie.  It was noted last week that he refers to himself as Batman but strangely against Haya he referred to Waqar Khan as Superman - making it seem as though the Haya vs Ihsan game was a preview of his favourite movie.

- Week Six has some interesting match ups as Ikhlas faces Ihsan in a battle for 5th, Shukr and Sabr face off in a battle for 3rd while Haya and Emaan meet to decide 1st place.

Player of the Game Video's have been posted:
Shukr vs Ikhlas - Kashif Taqiuddin (video not available)
Sabr vs Emaan - Hany Soliman leads Sabr with 3 goals and 2 assists
Haya vs Ihsan - Azhar Kalair is key in Haya's 2-1 win over Ihsan

Week Five - March 18th

- Week Four saw the top two teams win again while the remaining four teams failed to break apart from each other.

- For the first time this season, all six teams were in action all teams in action in the same night gave teams an opportunity to check out the competition.  Many raved about Emaan’s offence and particularly their top line that seemed unstoppable.

- Ihsan was pumped for the debut of Amir Multani whom they acquired off waivers, Multani was touted as the boost their offense needed to get going but the results were far from that.  Against Sabr they got shut out and managed only 11 shots on net as a team.  GM Fuzail Thakur said that he was not concerned after the game but perhaps he should be, two goals in three games for an offense that was considered one of the best just won't do

- Ikhlas came in with a short bench and struggling and despite a good start, collapsed against Haya and ended up on the wrong end of a 7-1 rout.  Yusuf Kapoor stood on his head early, robbing Waqar Khan on a breakaway and then stoning Ozair Naveed and Azhar Kalair.  Kapoor's heroics kept his team in the game until early in the 2nd half when his team in front of him finally let fatigue catch up and Haya went to work with their forwards left unmarked in front and able to pop in rebounds for easy goals

- Shukr continues to struggle with injuries, last game missing Aazar Zafar who went down with the flu.  The fact that Coach K has kept his team in third place despite so many key players being unavailable is a positive sign for this team for when they finally get everyone healthy

- Haya clearly found their offensive touch last week against Ikhlas, the output from Waqar Khan of a hat-trick was not a surprise, but the boost from the second line was what broke the game open as Asim Gauhar (2 goals, 1 assist), Usamah Rao (1 goal, 2 assists) and Shoaib Bhatti (three assists) were a force all game.  Their hard work early in the game resulted in many chances that Yusuf Kappor turned away but their perseverance paid off in the 2nd half by which time the Ikhlas defense core was running on fumes.

- Emaan's top line continues to set the pace this season, Gehad Alhundi leads the league with 13 points while Yousuf Sowdagar has 11 points and Ibrahim Hindy has 7 points.  This week Sabr has the unenviable task of trying to shut down this dynamic trio.

- Back to the Ihsan, Ahmad Hathout still has yet to record a point this season let alone make good on his statement that he would set the record for fastest goal to start a game - he’s 0/3 for those keeping track.  Hathout has all the tools to turn this around so many are baffled as to the reason for his slow start; one theory is that he is worn down after carrying Sabr to the championship in the recent fall season

- Some observers were curious about Haya and why the full team was not wearing their league jerseys, a team spokesman advised that there was an issue with jersey sizes (Haya along with some other teams) as rather than Ball Hockey Jerseys the team received much larger Ice Hockey Jerseys.  After his big game last week, Asim Gauhar may want to keep wearing his Joe Sakic Nordiques jersey rather than his league jersey whenever it comes back from the manufacturer in the correct size

- Coach K has announced that Sadat Malik will be making his debut and not a moment too soon, fitting him into the Coach K system on the fly will be a challenge but he is a veteran shut-down defenseman who will fit right in.

- Reports indicate that Ahmad Hathout has been trying to motivate his team by impersonating Batman during pre-game chats; going so far as to state: “I’m the hero that Ihsan needs, but not the one it deserves.  Opposing defensemen hunt me, because i can take it. Because I’m your hero.  A silent guardian.  A watchful protector.  A Dark Knight."

- Week Five has some added drama with reports of three teams potentially missing their goalie as Yasir Hussain, Sadiq Rehman and Fraz Khan are not available.  Shukr has already stated that they will be dressing Akib Malik who is one of the best defensive forwards as their goalie in another out of the box move from Coach K as he keeps his team together.  As for Sabr and Ihsan their goalie plans are not clear but one will likely use Zaid Majoo.  Reports indicate that both teams reached out to Sheraz Mahmood to dress for them but Sheraz Bhai declined indicating he had a prior commitment.

- With a tough game against Haya this week, Ihsan GM Fuzail Thakur has guaranteed a big game from Amir Multani

Week Four - March 11th

- Week Three saw one top team stumble in Shukr while another top contender in Emaan dominated.

- Ihsan went into their game with high hopes for their offense with the addition of newly acquired Amir Multani but he was not dressed for this game his teams offense came out flat as a result.  The pressure is on Multani to show up and get Ihsan on the right track.  Reportedly he has been working out twice a day to get into shape for the season.

- Shukr took a surprise loss last week, although with all the injuries the team was facing they had a large challege to overcome.  Yet while this was the first regular season loss for Shukr this season, this was the first regular season loss for Aazar Zafar in two seasons as who was part of the undefeated Shukr team from the last fall season.

- Haya had their full line-up available for their game against Shukr - sort of.  Ozair Naveed left a private box at the Toronto Raptors vs Cleveland Cavaliers game early to make his game however while he arrived to the arena on time he quickly realized he forgot his helmet.  ozair lefts raptors game to get to his game, forgot helmet and missed first half of his game racing home to retrieve it.  Unconfirmed reports indicate that Haya Captain Waqar Khan will be providing his team with an equipment checklist to review before each game as for the same game Huzaifa Shahid forgot his shorts and played in his track pants.

- The Shukr loss ruined the evening for Nadeem Qureshi who was celebrating his birthday that night.  Coach K gave a touching birthday toast post game to try and take some of the sting of the loss away.

- Going into Week Four, the pressure is on Sabr and Ihsan who face each other with both teams looking for their first win.  No word on whether either team is looking to make a move but if the losing doesn't end, both teams could try to shake things up via a trade to get going.

- Shukr got a massive effort from Kashif Taqiuddin who worked to cover for the missing players in his lineup.  During the game he took on the challenge of shutting down Haya's leader Waqar Khan and was successful in the head-to-head match-up.  In one instance, using his veteran guile to knock the net off just as Khan snapped in a loose rebound.  Post game, Coach K showed off the scars from his effort with a pair of open cuts.

- To say that Emaan dominated their game is an understatement, Gehad Alhundi finished with six points, Yousuf Sowdagar with five points and Ibrahim Hindy had four points.  If their top line keeps putting up strong efforts like this they will be hard to stop.

- Haya had a minor injury scare as during their game against Shukr, Shoaib Bhatti came off a shift with a lower body injury that he later said was minor and not a long term concern.

- Despite the loss, Coach K praised the effort of Jaudat Wasty who made a strong debut for Shukr.  With his experience playing in the Coach K system, Wasty was expected to fit in well and that he did logging big minutes against Haya.

- Ahmad Hathout once again missed out on breaking the fastest goal record as he promised before his season started.  More alarming for Ihsan is that the League's Regular Season scoring leader is without a point after two games.

- The injuries for Shukr have been mentioned but in addition to the season ending injury to Humza Hussain, the multiple games that Sadat Malik is expected to miss and the knee injury to Ali Malik. Saleem Malik who played through a painful hand injury to give his team a chance to win.

- Games for March 4th were cancelled due to the arena mistakenly double booking the night, those games have been moved to later in the season.  That said there were a few interesting theories as to why the games were delayed, with some of the most entertaining being:

• Coach K trying to stall a week to help Shukr get over their numerous injury issues
• Ahmad Ibrahim of Ihsan getting his game cancelled so he could celebrate his birthday
• Sabr worried that Sheraz Mahmood may have put too much pressure on himself going into his game against Haya where he was filling in for the night and eager to face off against some of his friends - Sheraz Bhai had guaranteed a shutout
• Amir Multani trying to get his game cancelled after failing a pregame fitness test

Player of the Game videos have been posted:
Haya vs Shukr - Azhar Kalair with the Game Winning goal
Emaan vs Ihsan - Gehad Alhundi (he was not available to the media post-game)