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