- 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)
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