Fall Season - Week Twelve - December 15th

- Frantic Friday saw Shukr shutout Yaqeen 4-0; Haya narrowly escaping Emaan 2-1 (shootout), and Shukr taking out the top seed 1-0

Three Stars of Wild-Card/Semi-Finals:
1st Star: Khalid Mufti (Shukr)- 13 saves against & shutout Sabr
2nd Star: Khalid Mufti (Shukr)- 12 saves & shutout against Yaqeen
3rd Star: Ibrahim Hindy (Shukr)- 2 Goals, 1 Assist against Yaqeen

Format of the Finals: This is a two-game series. The team that loses Game #1 (tonight), must win Game #2 (next week) to force a 5-minute sudden death over-time (5v5). If after the over-time the score is tied there will be a shootout (3 shooters aside). If still tied the shootout will enter sudden death. In case it is not clear if the team loses in Game # 1 but ties in Game # 2, then the team that won the first game will be crowned as the champs. In the even Game#1 ends in a tie (there will be no OT or shootouts), then the winner of Game #2 will win the championship.

Season Reflections - Yaqeen: If Yaqeen managed to get the first goal against your team then you were in for a long night. They would battle hard and grind out for wins or ties. This group did well to make the playoffs and put up resistance against teams. Their major flaw was they could never could get their offense going. Despite this they fought tooth and nail to the end.

Season Reflections - Emaan: You got to feel for the boys in Orange after losing in a shootout to Haya. After a solid regular season where they made noise beating the top teams enroute to finishing the regular season in 2nd place the expectations were high. Who knows how different last week could have been for them if Idrees Deen was able to suit up?

Season Reflections - Sabr: An incredible regular season with new blood we haven’t seen before. The new players served notice that there is some game outside the better-known cliques. There were some great individual performance that is reflective in the finalist for the major awards (see below).

Anonymous Yaqeen Player: “We had played Shukr tough all year and felt we could have beaten them. I guess it wasn’t meant to be as Hindy took a shot, missed the net horribly, hit the glass, bounced in front of the net but had some intense Arabic Tajweed on it and backed spun into the net. After that there was nothing left to do but think about your training in the offseason for the winter iteration of I-slam Hockey.”

Salman Alvi goes streaking? Last season Salman Alvi finally broke the curse by capturing the I-Slam Cup in Spring 2017. Now after paying his dues, he has the opportunity to build his streak to two consecutive championships.

Furqan Salam (Haya) and Mohammed Hamoud (Shukr) were traded for each other before Game One of the regular season. It was a traded facilitated by Haya to get Salam united with Waqar Khan. So we all know what is on Hamoud’s mind.

- Apparently not everyone on Shukr was confident that they would win both games last week, after their defeat of Sabr, Farhan Siddiqui mentioned that he had already bought tickets for the opening night showing of the new Star Wars movie and was looking for someone to give them to.  In a strategic move he apparently was offering them free to Haya players hoping to get some of them to bite and miss Game One.  

- Haya escaped the SemiFinals by the narrowest of margins over Emaan.  Haya got their lead when Furqan Salam managed to get a breakaway which he missed as Yusuf Kapoor made a spectacular save but Emaan defenders did not get back allowing Salam to grab his rebound and score.  Salam gave some words of encouragement to Kapoor after the goal - the two having played together in the Spring season and winning a championship.  From there Kapoor denied multiple Haya chances to keep his team in it and Emaan GM Luqman Arshad saved his team in the final minutes with some great defensive play and scoring the equalizer with 45 seconds left.  Overtime solved nothing and it was Nadeem Faqiri of Haya who was the only shooter able to score as he put Haya into the finals.  Watch the shootout highlights here.

- Sabr had their usual postgame routine of heading over to Moods for Shisha disrupted when Shukr players arrived early and grabbed the larger open table.  A Sabr player commented, "First they took the win and now they are rubbing it in by taking our table"

- Sabr looked a bit nervous going into their SemiFinal game, their body language showing a tenseness not seen all season and facing a veteran Shukr team it was a recipe for an upset.  The braintrust of Shukr (Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin and Ibrahim Hindy) came up with a plan to neutralize Sabr's league best offense and were able to implement it - grinding out a 1-0 win.  

- Going into the finals there will be a lot of attention on the stars to get things done, Shukr boasts a strong top line and has the veteran experience across the board to feel like they are in the drivers seat.  Haya feels that their approach to roll all lines during the regular season will pay dividends as everyone has confidence to contribute.

- There are questions about Waqar Khan as he seems to have lost a step since his summer wedding; one Shukr player joked that it seems as though the price of marrying into the Salam family was for Khan to transfer some of his power and skill to now brother-in-law Furqan Salam who led the league in goals scored.  Others  have wondered if Samad Hamidi's analysis of how to shut Khan down has been the difference.  No matter what the story is, Khan needs to pick things up if he wants to help Haya win the championship.

Here are your finalist for the major I-Slam Hockey Awards (in alphabetical order by last name):
Regular Season MVP (NHL equivalent: Hart Trophy):

- Humza Ali (Shukr)

- Maaz Haq (Sabr)

- Yusuf Kapoor (Emaan)

Top Goaltender (NHL equivalent: Vezina Trophy):
- Yusuf Kapoor (Emaan)
- Fahad Mohammad (Sabr)
- Khalid Mufti (Shukr)

Best Defense Man (NHL equivalent: James Norris Memorial Trophy):

- Taha Azhar (Sabr)

- Nazeer Gafoor (Emaan)

- Sajid Khan (Ikhlas)

- Junaid Mohammed (Haya)

Top Rookie (selected as the most proficient still within his first Three seasons of I-Slam Hockey):

- Dawood Ciombor (Shukr)
- Maaz Haq (Sabr)
- Fahad Mohammad (Sabr)

Naseem Buttar Best GM Award:
- Salman Khalid (Haya)
- Abdul-Wahab Mohammad (Sabr)

As the season draws to an end we would like to recognize the volunteers who pitched in to make the league enjoyable for all the players:
1. Yusuf Kapoor
2. Kunain Saiyed
3. Zaid Majoo
4. Samad Hamidi
5. Emad Hussain
6. Farzan Alam
7. Wajaahat Wasty
8. Saqib Sheikh
9. Basit Sheikh
10. Jalani Morgan
11. Rehan Lakhani

**URGENT**
I-Slam Hockey at RIS: If you would like to help out with this initiative, please get a hold of Ahmad Ibrahim ASAP. Whatever capacity you can assist we will gladly appreciate the help even if it is just spreading the word to your friends to come visit the booth!

Next Season:
- Registration for the upcoming winter season is already open. See here for more details (spots are to filling up fast. I would advise goalies to register as soon as possible)

Make sure to follow us and get your friends to follow us as well (this is another way you can help grow the league!):

Facebook: I-Slam Hockey
Twitter: iSlamHockey
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Youtube: IslamBallHockey

Fall Season - Week Eleven - December 8th

- Week 10 saw Emaan double up on Ikhlas 4-2; Sabr send a statement to Haya 3-0; and Yaqeen earn a playoff berth with a 2-1 win over Shukr

Three Stars of Week 10:
1st Star: Jazib Khan (Yaqeen) - 1 Goal, GWG (clinch playoffs for his team)
2nd Star: Fahad Mohammad (Sabr) - 13 saves for his 6th shutout
3rd Star: Idrees Deen (Sabr) - 1 Goal and 2 Assists

Format of the Playoff Games: If games are tied after the 2nd half, there will be a 5-minute sudden death over-time (5 v 5). If still tied there will be a shootout (3 shooters aside). If still tied the shootout will enter sudden death.

- Ikhlas misses out on the post season after a tumultuous run, their only two wins came over Yaqeen who edged them out for the final playoff spot.  More was expected from this team but you cannot win games with the number of injuries and player absences that they had.  Still a bitter pill for Ikhlas to swallow missing the playoffs as they lost their last four games where just one win would have put them into the post season.

- Haya managed to grab the 3rd seed but by a technicality more than anything as they tied with Shukr where the teams split the season series but by virtue of having more wins (five) than Shukr (four) they take the higher spot in the standings.

- Yaqeen has a tough path ahead of them, barely qualifying for the playoffs they will face Shukr with their full roster.  To have any hope they need to play a tight checking game and stay out of penalty trouble.  

- Shukr comes into their game favoured over Yaqeen and knowing that they have to balance their gameplan, build a lead and then rest players for their game against Sabr at 10pm.  It's always a delicate balance but they have a deep enough roster and the hockey brains to make it happen.

- After scoring the game winner to send Yaqeen to the playoffs, Jazib Khan was at the receiving end of many compliments from his teammates who praised his humble approach and hard working style.  Saad Khan referred to his teammate (not ironically wearing a Batman shirt) as "Not the hero Yaqeen deserved, but the one we needed"

- After their loss, some Shukr players tried to save face by saying that they were taking their final game easy and were okay with the loss as it meant they had to face Yaqeen who they felt was weaker than Ikhlas.  A bizarre statement considering a win would have put Shukr into 3rd place and not have to play two games in the first night of the playoffs.

- Emaan will face a big test against Haya in the first round of the playoffs, reports indicate that they relish the challenge and after defeating Ikhlas (AKA Cambridge B) and playing a part in ending their season, Emaan is looking to defeat Haya (Cambridge A) and end their season as well.

Congratulations to the following award winners:
2017 Fall Goal Scoring Champion: Furqan Salam (Haya) - 10 goals
2017 Fall Scoring (Overall Points) Champion: Maaz Haq (Sabr) - 18 points
2017 Khalid Raheem Lowest GAA: Fahad Mohammad (Sabr) - 0.60

Here are the nominees (in no particular order) for the rest of the awards (Note: GMs had the opportunity to provide supporting points to strengthen the case of their teammates):

Regular Season MVP (NHL equivalent: Hart Trophy):
1. Waqar Khan (Haya): Although Waqar hasn't had the best season as per his own high standards, there is no doubting that when he is on the floor, he is a dominant force whether he is scoring or not. The ball is rarely in our defensive end when he is playing, which has given our defenseman tone of confidence and has eased the defensive burden. His leadership and good nature has inspired our young players and we definitely don't make the playoffs without him.

2. Furqan Salam (Haya): Furqan has had a throwback season where he has led the league in goals. He has scored 10 of our 24 goals and if you add his assists, has been involved in half of our teams scoring. Without him, we still may have been competitive, but have lacked the finish that allowed us to win five games. Without him, I don't believe we'd make the playoffs.

3. Yusuf Kapoor (Emaan): the most important position in the league. Humble, will fit into every team. makes the saves that need to be made. he has kept his team in every single game. made countless key saves when his team needed it most. Never has a negative thing to say. he was the key reason Emaan finished with very few goals allowed and 2nd in the league in the standings and calms the backend and initiates a lot of our offense.

4. Umair Awan (Ikhlas): 80% + of our team’s goal He can play the entire game if we are short benched and we haven't won a game without him. He has scored in every game and is not selfish as can be seen by his assists. He is the MVP of the league this season.

5. Sajid Khan (Ikhlas): silent killer, the points do not show the difference that he made on the floor.

6. Nauman Abbasi (Shukr): he the best two way player and the heart and soul of the team; He Creates offensive chances, defends well and quarterbacks the power play; The heart and soul of the team

7. Humza Ali (Shukr): Fastest guy in the league ; Great player maker and gritty

8. Tahir Maarouf (Sabr): Another great guy. Hasn't racked up the points like Maaz, but his full end-to-end game is spectacular. Hustles, is super quick, super skilled and is the definition of a team player.

9. Farrukh Khan (Yaqeen): Farrukh Khan great captain and a rock on defense.

10. Maaz Haq (Sabr): Great kid. Is running away with the scoring race. Has scored highlight reel goals. Makes his teammates better. A fresh new face of the league that has lived up to the hype and then some. The reach, the dangles, the vision. Music plays when he has the ball.

Top Goaltender (NHL equivalent: Vezina Trophy):
1. Kunain Saiyed (Haya): been a stalwart for us all season. He has held us in games we had no business being competitive In (week 2 versus Yaqeen where we had 6 subs and were outshot 30-10, yet the score was only 2-1 until he was pulled). If you remove his first 2 weeks goals against when we were missing our best players, his numbers are amongst the best in the league. When voting, please keep in mind save percentage. This hasn't been calculated or averaged out but can be easily done.

2. Yusuf Kapoor (Emaan): -consistency -kept his team.in every game. has not let in a weak goal all season -humble, team motivator. reliable. maybe the fewest goals allowed in the league. - most of our games have been very low scoring games and his ability to make many timely saves allowed us to score the key goal to overcome many poor offensive games. he does not complain when the team lets him down. i have never heard him say a negative thing in the 10 games we have played this season. he is one of the smallest goalies in the league. but his skillset, positioning, hockey sense and his desire to never give up on any chance helps him beat any other goalie in the league.

3. Ahmad Mobin (Yaqeen): Ahmad has always been reliable and a great teammate and when he is on top of his game he is the best goalie in the league.

4. Khalid Mufti (Shukr): He’s pretty much kept us in every game especially when we’ve been short benched. We also have the oldest team and defense

5. Fahad Mohammad (Sabr): Let in his first goal five games into his I-Slam career. Has five goals against total. Has not allowed more than two goals all season. 0.67 GAA and 946 save percentage. Big, athletic, poised and a great guy.

6. Ahmed Jamal (Ikhlas): Struggled throughout the season with injury and still made an impact by doing whatever it took

Best Defense Man (NHL equivalent: James Norris Memorial Trophy):
1. Rayhan Malik (Ikhlas): Solid all around performance, contributed on offence and defense

2. Taha Azhar (Sabr): Taha Azhar - what a revelation on defense! Came back to I-Slam after a few years. Remembered him as a quick, grinder type forward from before. Switches to defense after his first game and wow. Super mobile d-man with boundless energy and great rushing instincts. A huge part of our team.

3. Amer Khawaja (Sabr): has stepped up his intensity as the season has progressed. Big, smart, seasoned d-man with surprising mobility and great leadership qualities. Also has an underrated shot from the point.

4. Junaid Mohammed (Haya): Junaid has used his experience and athleticism to lead our team from the back end. He has been on the floor for only 3 goals against all season in 7 games (of the 18 scored against us in those games). He has also scored 2 of our 5 game winning goals. He plays both the PP and PK and has been an amazing mentor to new defenders Jawad Majeed and Sahil Mohammed. Just by him being on the floor, those 2 are better, which is a tough stat to measure unless you've watched the games.

5. Farrukh Khan (Yaqeen)

6. Nazeer Gafoor (Emaan)

7. Sadat Malik (Emaan)

8. Samad Hamidi (Shukr)

Top Rookie (selected as the most proficient still in his first 3 seasons of I-slam Hockey):
1. Jawad Majeed (Haya)- Jawad has been our utility knife this season and is perhaps one of the more underrated players in the league. He has played half on defense and half on offense. I ask how many beginner players have been asked to play both roles and have thrived? His stats won't jump out at you, but he makes all the plays you love as a GM, from cleanly clearing the zone to jumping into the rush and his backchecking is top notch. I love the idea of him simply being nominated for this award.

2. Nazeer Gafoor (Emaan)- totally under rated Dman; solid D play game in and out; helped his team to the fewest goals allowed.

3. AK (Ikhlas)- Defensively sound player

4. Hannan Ghafoor (Ikhlas): Solid smart player that always made the right moves

5. Ahmed Jamal (Ikhlas): Team player, always open to advice and learning, gave 100 percent every game

6. Dawood Ciombar (Sabr): Good shot and leads our team in goals

7. Umair Khan (Yaqeen): good listener and improves every game

8. Wajahat Watsy (Sabr): dude has never played hockey before! Quick learner and even faster runner who does not back down. Rounds out a stellar defense, and is only going to get better.

9. Tahir Maarouf (Sabr)

10. Fahad Mohammad (Sabr)

11. Maaz Haq (Sabr)

12. Ibrahim Khan (Haya)

13. Sahil Mohammad (Haya)

14. Mustafa Shahbaz (Haya)

- I-Slam Hockey at RIS: In our efforts to grow the league we will have a booth at the upcoming RIS conference. If you would like to help out with this initiative, please get a hold of Ahmad Ibrahim. Particularly we need help with putting together a powerpoint, manning the booth, and creating a banner. However whatever capacity you can assist we will gladly appreciate the help.

Next Season:
- Registration for the upcoming winter season opens today. Stay tuned for details!

Follow us:
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Twitter: iSlamHockey
Instagram: IslamHockeyCanada
Youtube: IslamBallHockey

Fall Season - Week Ten - December 1st

- Week Nine saw Cambridge A (Haya) sweep the season series against Cambridge B (Ikhlas) this time by a 4-2 score; Shukr extinguish the Emaan fire in a 2-1game; and Sabr come-from-behind win against an inspired Yaqeen with a 3-1 score.

Three Stars of Week Nine:
1st Star: Tahir Marouf (Sabr) - 2 Goals (GWG)
2nd Star: Furqan Salam (Haya) - 2 Goals (GWG)
3rd Star: Humza Ali (Shukr) - 1 Goal (GWG) and 1 Assist

- Samad still has no Emaan in Team Emaan: Up until Week Nine, Emaan was rolling taking out both Sabr and Haya in back to back weeks. With their biggest critic right in front of them in Week Nine and with the entire league paying more attention to their squad, they unraveled, losing 2-1.

- Emaan is a team that has a Ummah but not Ulaamah?  During the closing moments of the Emaan-Shukr game, Emaan had a two- man advantage (5-3) to try to even the score.  With less than 1-minute to go, observers were wondering why Emaan did not pull Yusuf Kapoor to make it a 6 on 3. Do’h! Somebody from the Emaan leadership team messed up… It begs the question has Samad Hamidi cursed Emaan? 

- Sabr’s Umer Buksh (Mr. Two-Goals-In-One-Night) has announced this playoffs he will be putting the entire league in his And-1-Mix-Tape as he hopes to take home Playoff MVP honours.  Last game against Yaqeen he was showcasing his evolving game with some physical play.

- Speaking of awards, that process has already begun.
Below is the overall process for the awards that are determined by votes:
Voting Process:
Phase 1: Each GM will nominate their own team-mates to represent the team on the ballot (Note: For some awards the OC might deem it necessary to allow certain team to have more nominations than other teams. For example, if one team has considerably more rookies on its roster in comparison to another team.)

Phase 2: After all the nominations have been collected from each team, 3 players from each team will vote under the following rules:

i) Voters cannot vote for their own team-mates
ii) For each award voters must select three nominees (no less than 3)
iii) 1st Choice= 5 points; 2nd Choice= 3 points; 3rd Choice=1 point; the player with the most points will win the award. In the event there is a tie the award will be given to the player with the most first place votes. If there still remains a tie then in this case only the players will be co-winners

- Some awards are strictly determined by stats.  It looks like Sabr’s Maaz Haq is poised to take home the ‘Overall Scoring’ Title.  It is a bit tighter for the ‘Goal-Scoring’ where Furqan Salam (Haya) has a 2 goal edge over Umair Awan (Ikhlas).  For the ‘Lowest GAA’ award, Fahad Mohammad (Sabr) has a bit of breathing room but if he lets in three or more goals and Emaan’s Yusuf Kapoor shuts the door he will defend his title.

- Congratulations on Sabr for clinching first overall.  This gives them the easiest path to the finals. They will face the winner of the wild card game.  Whom that will be is still undecided as all five teams still have the possibility of playing in that game (read the previews for more details).

- Tonight the season will come to an end for either Ikhlas or Yaqeen.  As it stands right now, Ikhlas holds the last playoff spot.  For Yaqeen to overtake Ikhlas they need to ensure they get at least one more point than them tonight.

- In Week Nine, Sajid Khan (Ikhlas) went in net for his team.  This made it the fourth different goaltender Ikhlas has tried this season!  Desperate times calls for desperate measures.

-**IMPORTANT**: In order to be eligible for the playoffs you must have played minimum four games in the regular season.

- I-Slam at RIS: In our efforts to grow the league we will have a booth at the upcoming RIS conference.  If you would like to help out with this initiative, please get a hold of Ahmad Ibrahim. Particularly we need help with putting together a PowerPoint, manning the booth, and creating a banner. However whatever capacity you can assist we will gladly appreciate the help.

Warning Issued:
- Umar Muhammad (Shukr) has received a formal warning in an effort to clean up play careless play as the league is working to ensure player safety.

- Follow us:
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Fall Season - Week Nine - November 17th

- Week Eight saw Shukr get 2 big points against Haya (4-3), Emaan steam roll Yaqeen (5-0) and Sabr keep their Number One ranking versus Ikhlas (5-2)

Three Stars of Week Eight:
1st Star: Yusuf Kapoor (Emaan) - 18 saves and shutout
2nd Star: Maaz Haq (Sabr) - 2 Goals, 3 Assists , 5 Points
3rd Star: Saleem Malik (Emaan) - 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 3 Points

- Make that two straight shutouts for Yusuf Kapoor (Emaan).  In that span he has made 33 saves against Haya and Yaqeen combined.

- Looks like Maaz Haq (Sabr) has done enough through eight games to ensure he wins the overall scoring title. He currently has 17 points, 6 more than 2nd place Saleem Malik (Emaan) and he faces last place Yaqeen this week and a chance to rack up more points.

- The goal scoring race looks like it will come down to the wire. Right now, Furqan Salam (Haya) has a one goal lead over Umair Awan (Ikhlas). Another side plot to tonight’s Cambridge A (Haya) vs Cambridge B (Ikhlas) matchup.

- Some Sabr players are reportedly looking past their game tonight against last place Yaqeen and instead focusing on their final game against Haya - and who can really blame them.  Last time the teams met is was a 6-0 blowout.  That said, Faisal Mehboob has said he always enjoys playing against Sulmaan Azmat as both play a similar bump and grind style.

- It looks like the final playoff spot will come down to Yaqeen or Ikhlas. Here is a breakdown of their remaining games:

IKHLAS:
Tonight vs Haya (lost 6-2 first meeting); Week 10 vs Emaan (lost 7-0 first meeting)

YAQEEN:
Tonight vs Sabr (lost 6-0 first meeting); Week 10 vs Shukr (tied 0-0 first meeting)

- Battle for first overall: Sabr controls their own destiny however if they slip by either getting drawing or losing one of their two games with the combination of Emaan winning their remaining games then the boys in Orange will head into the playoffs as the number one seed

**IMPORTANT**: In order to be eligible for the playoffs you must have played minimum four games in the regular season.

- I-Slam at RIS: In our efforts to grow the league we will have a booth at the upcoming RIS conference. Tonight there will be a professional photographer taking player profile pictures up on the balcony. We would like your help! After your game if you can give 10 minutes of your time to get your pictures taken we will appreciate it. These pictures will be displayed at the booth and perhaps on our upcoming new website. Thank you for your cooperation.

Suspension News:
- Waqar Khan (Haya) has been suspended for one game for his conduct during the Haya vs Shukr game last week where the following infraction.  The suspension was originally for two games but reduced to one upon appeal.

- Each member of both teams (Haya and Shukr) except the goalies will each be fined $10 for jumping off the bunch during the altercation:
Shukr Players:
Kashif Taqiuddin
Ibrahim Hindy
Humza Ali
Dawood Ciombar
Rameez Siddiqi
Umar Muammad
Saqib Sheikh
Nauman Abbasi
Samad Hamidi
Farhan Siddique
Farhan Siddiqui
Munaf Nathalia

Haya Players:
Furqan Salam
Ibrahim Khan
Jawad Majeed
Junaid Mohammad
Mustafa Shahbaz
Nadeem Faqiri
Sahil Mohammad
Salman Alvi
Asim Khan
- note there is an exception for players who were already on the floor at the time as identified by the team GM.

- While it is expected to be understood, players are reminded that whether during the play or a stoppage there are not to be any line changes or players leaving the bench.  The referees cannot assume that players coming onto the floor are there to help keep the peace so to avoid creating a situation where there is the potential for an altercation to increase players are required to wait on the bench until the referee's have indicated that they can make a line change or commence with end of game procedures.

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Fall Season - Week Eight - November 10th

- Week Seven saw Haya overcome adversity to beat Yaqeen 4-1, Emaan send shock waves throughout the I-Slam universe and give Sabr a taste of their own shutout-medicine and Shukr pick up a huge win against Ikhlas in their bid to qualify for the big dance.

Three Stars of Week Seven:
1st Star: Humza Ali (Shukr) - 1 Goal & 3 Assist
2nd Star: Furqan Salam (Haya) - 2 Goals
3rd Star: Dawood Ciombar (Shukr) - 2 Goals

- Give Emaan credit! Back to back weeks they handled their business against Haya and Sabr. Now they are the talk of the league.  Samad Hamidi isn’t quite ready to buy into the Emaan stock quite yet. He still affirms that Emaan doesn’t have “it” to put it together for the playoffs.  Shahid Ibrahim responded “let the haters hate, we will just watch the wins pile up.” It should be noted that S.Ibrahim has difficulties remembering his team’s name and just refers to his squad as ”the flying Dutchmen” (probably because of both teams having orange jerseys).

- Last week Ahmad Ibrahim (Emaan) and Faisal Mehboob (Sabr) had a friendly wagering where the loser would have to pay for the winners shisha. Those who attend these after game outings can attest to how painfully funny it is to see Mehboob pay for his order from an envelope full of toonies. So it was even more hilarious when he had to pay for two orders last week. Rumour has it that Ibrahim and Amir Hanif (Yaqeen) have a similar bet going for when Emaan-Yaqeen meet at 9 pm tonight

- Haya will be without rookie Imran Choudhry who took a knock after colliding with Shoaib Bhatti of Yaqeen last week. 

- When pressed for a comment on his team’s recent struggles, Basit Sheikh (Sabr) told reporters, “it is better to lose now than in the playoffs. Losing builds character, and character nourishes the soul and in the end the only thing that will remain is our souls. It is better to take these experiences as learning opportunities to help better oneself and help develop into a better human being… But next week we face Ikhlas… off the boards and not up the middle”

-Sabr’s GM, Abdul-Wahab Mohammad, has suggested there seems to be 3 tiers this season.
Tier 1: Sabr, Emaan & Haya (interesting way he listed the teams)
Tier 2: Shukr
Tier 3: the rest of the league.

- It looks like the final playoff spot will come down to Yaqeen or Ikhlas (although Shukr is not out of the woods yet, see the next point below). Here is a breakdown of their remaining games.

Ikhlas:
> Week 8 vs Sabr (lost 5-0 in first meeting), Week 9 vs Haya (lost 6-2 first meeting), Week 10 vs Emaan (lost 7-0 first meeting)

Yaqeen:
Week 8 vs Emaan (tied 0-0 in first meeting), Week 9 vs Sabr (lost 6-0 in first meeting), Week 10 vs Shukr (tied 1-1 first meeting)

- Huge loss for Shukr: rumour has it that Dawood Ciombar & Wesam Issawi will be out for the next few games. Just to remind the readers they are also going to be without the service of Ibrahim Hindy and Mohammed Hamoud for some time. So their playoff lives are looking precarious, especially if Yaqeen and Ikhlas can get some points in their last remaining games.

Here is how the battle for first overall is shaping out:

Sabr:
Week 8 vs Ikhlas (won 5-0 in first meeting), Week 9 vs Yaqeen (won 6-0 in first meeting), Week 10 vs Haya (lost 2-1 in first meeting)

Emaan:
Week 8 vs Yaqeen (tied 0-0 in first meeting), Week 9 vs Shukr (tied 2-2 in first meeting), Week 10 vs Ikhlas (won 7-0 in first meeting)

Haya:
Week 8 vs Shukr (won 2-1 in their first meeting), Week 9 vs Ikhlas (won 6-2 in their first meeting), Week 10 vs Sabr (won 2-1 in their first meeting)

- I-Slam at RIS! We are pleased to announce in our efforts to grow the league that we will have a booth at the upcoming RIS conference. This league is a grassroots movement that aims to bring the Muslim community together from all across the GTA. If you would like to help out with this initiative please we would love to hear from you! In the next few weeks there will be a professional photographer taking pictures (most likely player profile pictures) to be displayed at our booth. He is a non-muslim brother who whole-heartedly supports community initiatives, so we encourage you all to have a chat with him when you have some free time at the rink.

- If you are not already, follow us!
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Twitter: iSlamHockey
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Fall Season - Week Seven - November 3rd

- Week Six saw Sabr get their fifth shutout against Shukr, Ikhlas, come up with a clutch win against Yaqeen and Emaan edge Haya 2-1 to get a solid grip on second place

Three Stars of Week Six:
1st Star: Assad Darr (Ikhlas) - 3 Goals
2nd Star: Umer Buksh (Sabr) - 2 Goals
3rd Star: Saqib Khokhar (Yaqeen) - 2 Goals, 1 Assist, 3 Points

- Samad Hamidi, the most hated man in the Team Emaan Locker Room?  It has been rumored that Imran Lakhanpal (Sabr) has banned Hamidi from all his Dairy Queen/Popeye outlets for the rest of the season.

- Speaking of Imran Lakhanpal, he was awarded a prestigious award from Dairy Queen but refused to touch it. When questioned as to why he said that the I-Slam Cup is the only trophy that is on his mind.

- Observers have noted that Samad Hamidi’s analysis typically either focuses on either 1) Waqar Khan (Haya) or 2) Nauman Abbasi (Shukr).  However many critics feel there are other players he is overlooking that are making bigger contributions to their team; “Boom Boom” is 9th in scoring and Abassi’s team (Shukr) only has one win this season.  One player who is demanding more attention is Umer Buksh (Sabr) who wants it to be known that last Friday he outscored the following players combined:
1. Amer Khawaja
2. Abdul-Wahab Mohammad
3. Basit Sheikh
4. Wajaahat Wasty
5. Mehmed Rizvanovic
6. Maaz Haq
7. Azim Siddique
8. Ahmed Ali
9. Taha Azhar
10. Ozair Naveed
11. Fahad Mohammad
12. Aazar Zafar
13. Imdad Ali
14. Faisal Mehboob
15. Tahir Maarouf
16. Wesam Issawi
17. Farhan Siddiqui
18. Samad Hamidi
19. Munaf Nathalia
20. Ibrahim Hindy
21. Rameez Siddiqi
22. Saqib Sheikh
23. Dawood Ciombar
24. Mohammed Hamoud
25. Kashif Taqiuddin
26. Nauman Abbasi
27. Khalid Mufti
28. Farhan Siddique
29. Humza Ali
30. Umar Muhammad
31. Emaad Siddiqui
32. Saad Khan
33. Arslan Mian
34. Jazib Khan
35. Sulmaan Azmat
36. Zuhair Fancy
37. Umair Khan
38. Farrukh Khan
39. Farzan Alam
40. Mussadiq Ali Mirza
41. Ahmad Mobin
42. Emad Hussain
43. Usamah Rao
44. Rizwan Malik
45. Shoaib Bhatti
46. Walied Soliman
47. Kamran Siddiqui
48. Sajid Khan
49. A K
50. Fowad Alvi
51. Abdu Sharkawy
52. Umair Awan
53. Wakaas Khan
54. Hany Soliman
55. Ebad Khan
56. Ahmed Jamal
57. Rayhan Malik
58. Hannan Ghafoor
59. Atif Mian
60. Adnan Hashmi
61.Saleem Malik
62. Idris Kalair
63. Farooq Sani
64. Ahmad Ibrahim
65. Ali Valiji
66. Saajid Bhayat
67. Nazeer Gafoor
68. Shahid Ibrahim
69. Yusuf Kapoor
70. Hassan Valiji
71. Jaudat Wasty
72. Luqman Arshad
73. Sadat Malik
74. Imran Choudhry
75. Asim Khan
76. Ibrahim Khan
77. Rehan Lakhani
78. Nadeem Faqiri
79. Waqar Khan
80. Umair Ashraf
81. Salman Khalid
82. Salman Alvi
83. Mustafa Shahbaz
84. Kaunain Saiyed
85. Jawad Majeed
86. Sahil Mohammad
87. Hamza Amin
88. Furqan Salam

- Fake News? Salman Khalid (Haya) has admitted in creating Fake News for his team recaps to help create more public demand to get I-Slam Media to record more of his team’s games.  If you missed the highlight package from two weeks ago here it is again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7ekWEeW99U&feature=youtu.be

- What is wrong with Ahmad Mobin?  He hasn’t been having a typical “Mobin” season and he has one of the worse goaltending statistics among goaltenders.  Apparently he was called out to play for another team (in a different league) and got lit up there as well.  Waqar Khan was there to witness the train wreck and will probably be filling in his team on all the details later today (Haya faces of against Yaqeen at 8pm).  On the opposite end of the spectrum, a goaltender that has been steady all year has been Yusuf Kapoor (Emaan).  For him, tonight will be a big statement game (when Emaan plays Sabr) against his counterpart Fahad Mohammad (Sabr), who has been a brick wall for five  out of six games this campaign.

Fall Season - Week Six - October 27th

- Week Five opened with Emaan demolishing Ikhlas 7-0, Haya dealing Sabr it's first defeat in a 2-1 game and Emaan dominating play but ending in a 1-1 tie with Yaqeen.

Three Stars for Week Five:
1st Star: Ahmad Ibrahim (Emaan) - One Goal, Three Assists, Four Points
2nd Star: Ahmad Mobin (Yaqeen) - Twenty-seven Saves
3rd Star: Jaudat Wasty (Emaan) - Two Goals, One Assist, Three Points

- There has been quite the discussion regarding the three stars selected for the game between Shukr and Yaqeen.  After further investigation, it appears The Russians hacked the I-Slam Social Media account.  Apparently Farrukh Khan looks like a Russian Hitman in his I-Slam Profile pic (see here: http://i-slam.ca/hockey/league/boxscore.php?seasonID=21&GameID=700) and was selected as the first star.

-Speaking of Farrukh Khan, he seems to be playing the role well as he eliminated the opposition and ended up with 4 PIMs in his last game.  After the game he told reporters, “In Russia, the refs does not give Farrukh penalties… Farrukh gives refs penalties.”

-Emaan’s Ahmad Ibrahim & Jaudat Watsy were quite the dynamic duo last week, earning the first and third star respectively.

- Did you catch the Haya’s pre-game interview before they took to the rink against Sabr: (https://www.facebook.com/islam.hockey/videos/1576712599054782/)
Haya’s Junaid Mohammad boldly predicted an end to Sabr’s undefeated streak and teammate Sahil Mohammed inspired his team with a passionate pre-game speech, “the plan is to score goals… score more goals then [Sabr].”  Next to Sahil was none other than Boom Boom Khan (check the video if you don’t believe me). It was obvious Khan was inspired as he broke Sabr’s shutout streak less than two minutes into the game.

- Sabr’s goaltender Fahad Mohammad appeared to be confused after finally letting in a goal that he had to ask the referees on why they were taking the ball back to center ice.

- Despite losing the much anticipated matchup, many players from Sabr felt that they would be able to handle Haya next time around and are looking forward to the next meeting.

-It looks like the last playoff spot will either go to Yaqeen or Ikhlas.  But Shukr also has reason to worry as it is rumoured both Ibrahim Hindy and Mohammed Hamoud are expected to both be missing at least 3 of the next 5 games

- Emaan scoring 7 goals last week against Ikhlas is the most so far by any team

-Have you seen the highlight package from the Sabr vs Haya game: here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7ekWEeW99U&feature=youtu.be

- We would like to keep producing more videos but are in need of volunteers to work the cameras, do interviews. Likewise we need volunteers in other areas.  If this is something you are interested in please contact amob87@gmail.com

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Twitter: iSlamHockey
Instagram: IslamHockeyCanada
Youtube: IslamBallHockey

Fall Season - Week Five - October 20th

- Week Four started with Sabr laying a beating on Yaqeen by a 6-0 score, Haya dominated the Battle of Cambridge for a 6-2 and Emaan made a late comeback to tie Shukr 2-2.

Three Stars of the Week for Week Five:
1st Star - Furqan Salam (Haya) - Two Goals, One Assist
2nd Star - Maaz Haq (Sabr) - Three Assists
3rd Star - Idrees Deen (Emaan) - One Goal

- Sabr is hoping that with the Max Gala over, and congratulations to their team for a successful event, that Aazar Zafar is able to attend more games. Other teams must be wondering what this team will be like when they have their full roster as in addition to Zafar, Ozair Naveed has missed games. With these two speedsters in the line-up...well things don't look promising for opponents.

- Samad Hamidi is predicting a Haya vs Sabr final; this does not bode well for the other four teams as Hamidi is never wrong in his predictions.

- Everyone expected fireworks in the Battle of Cambridge but the game actually saw tension between some unusual suspects - well one unusual suspect.  Rayhan Malik of Ikhlas saw an opening to make body contact with longtime friend and Haya player Imran Chaudhry and gave him a bump before chasing the ball into the Haya zone and trying to poke it out from under goalie Kaunain Saiyed.  Now Malik is known to play an edgy style of play and one Haya player took exception to the contact on Chaudhry (not knowing they were friends) as Salman Khalid stepped in.  The result was an Ikhlas powerplay and Malik in the box for the rest of the game.  In an ironic twist, Malik and Chaudhry were reportedly seen at Tim Horton's later that evening - no matter what happens in a game it is always good to see it left on the floor.

- Speaking of Max Gala Ahmad Mobin and Umair Ashraf embraced each other at the event the past Weekend, similar to Kyrie Irving and LBJ at the end of the Cavs vs Celtics game.  Their collision in Week Two left Ashraf with a bruise to his face while Mobin...well he just had hurt feelings.

- After Sabr's pummeling of Yaqeen, Faisal Mehboob was seen entering the Yaqeen changeroom with a helmet leaving an observer to comment that it wasn't enough for Sabr to have dominated the scoreboard but seemed to be taking equipment as well as a trophy.  It was later clarified that for whatever reason he had taken Sulmaan Azmat's helmet from the week before and was returning it.

- Haya is trying to figure out how to manage Salman Khalid as after his altercation against Ikhlas and ensuing penalty seemed to enjoy his taste of the dark arts of ball hockey.  If he decides he needs to start taking penalties...well Haya may be in trouble.

- Sabr’s Fahad Mohammad is Mr.Flawless after four games.  He has faced the fewest shots 45 of all goalies and during his interview with Samad Hamidi said he wanted to face more shots.  He may regret that ask after this week's game against Haya.

- Sabr GM Abdul-Wahab Mohammad says the shutout streak is becoming a burden on the team and is hoping that his players aren’t focusing too much on this in lieu of hoisting the I-Slam Cup at the end of the playoffs.

- Rumours are out there that Firasath Ali might be missing games in December, bad news for Ikhlas who are already thin on the blue line. if this is true.

- The league is planning to record the 9pm game between Haya and Sabr so look for some media to be shared about this clash of the titans if you aren't able to watch it live.

Fall Season - Week Four - October 13th

- Week Three start with Yaqeen and Emaan ending in a scoreless draw, Haya get their star players back and their first win of the season and Sabr demolishing Ikhlas by a 5-0 score.

Three Stars of Week Three:
1st Star: Kaunain Saiyed (Haya) - 26 saves on 27 shots
2nd Star: Maaz Haq (Sabr) - Two Goals, One Assist
3rd Star: Ahmad Mobin (Yaqeen) - 23 saves on 23 shots

- It will be interesting to see if the one week layoff for all teams have any impact, some teams were mandating that players increase their workouts to ensure no one comes back in worse shape.

- Bizarre ending/Not something you see every day?  With the score 4-0, Ikhals GM Wakaas Khan pulled his goaltender, Ahmed Jamal with under 2 minutes to go!  It is hard to speculate what the rationale was: was Khan trying to break Sabr’s shutout streak?  Was Khan trying to give his forward confidence after only managing one goal in the past two games?  Whatever the reason it backfired allowing rookie Maaz Haq to complete pick up his second goal of the game with an empty netter.  A rough couple of games for Ikhlas as they demolished Yaqeen to open the season only to be roughed up in their past two games.

- Over the break there were reports that Haya sent some of their key players down to Washington DC to recruit some additional talent to add to their roster after finding themselves near the bottom of the standings.  The player they went looking for?  Ahmed Hathout...so you know Haya is getting antsy when they are looking to the Dark Knight for assistance (Editors Note: when Hathout was a mainstay in the league he gave himself the nickname of Batman or Dark Knight as a method to motivate his teammates).  This delicate negotiation was managed by Waqar Khan and Furqan Salam but it is unlikely that they will have been able to get Hathout to return to the league this season.

- Give the people what they want!  Unfortunately Samad Hamidi has been sick the past few weeks and has not been able to post any video previews.  The league is considering pumping him full of some Cold FX and roll him in front of a camera.  His analysis on Waqar Khan was spot on as Shukr used it to keep Khan off the scoresheet.

- Haya failed to get their recap in before the Tuesday deadline which means GM Salman Khalid will serve a 2-minute penalty tonight.  Unfortunately there was miscommunication between the Haya members as to who would do the recap but Salman Khalid has taken a bullet for his team and has accepted full responsibility.  This is the second team to face this punishment as Emaan took a penalty for this in Week Two with GM Luqman Arshad sitting to start the game.  So a reminder to all teams to make sure to not handcuff your team by missing out on the game recap!

- Word out of the Sabr locker room is that they feel Haya will be their toughest competition this season.  The teams meet next Friday, October 20th.  A game some members of Sabr have already dubbed “The New Generation” (Maaz Haq) against “The Present Guard” (Waqar Khan).

- During the pregame speech between Haya and Shukr it was noted that a few Haya players took a knee when Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin started to speak.  It was not clear if this was a political statement by Haya players or some poorly timed stretching.

- It was good to see Umair Ashraf back in Week Three after he injured his eye in a collision with Yaqeen Goalie Ahmad Mobin.  Ashraf came back with the full cage - a wise choice to protect his face and a breath of relief to his agent as there was concern that Ashraf may have jeopardized his career as a beard model.

- In other injury news, Sulmaan Azmat of Yaqeen got clipped with a high stick and was bleeding from the lip.  The injury is not serious but he was heard being lectured after the game by his brother Furhan Azmat that he should wear face protection if Sulmaan is serious about his career as an Instagram Model.

- Haya got many of their star players back for Week Three and the result was a win as Junaid Mohammad, Waqar Khan and Salman Khalid all made their debut.  It had been a rough start for Haya this season with short benches becoming an all-too frequent appearance so hopefully they will be able to field a full team going forward.  Mohammad is notorious for having to miss games due to his work schedule so Haya has to hope that he doesn't miss too many more as they have a lot of work to do to climb out of last place.

- Really a 0-0 tie?  How rarely does this happen?  Ahmad Mobin (Yaqeen) and Ahmad Ibrahim (Emaan) settle their challenge with 25 burpees each.  What will be on the line next time when the two teams meet?

- Observers have been a bit surprised that Shukr has struggled to start the season.  The team was drafted with some of the great ball hockey minds the league has seen with Ibrahim Hindy and Coach K and Samad Hamidi in there too.  With only one win in their first three games expect to see this team start to pull it together and

- Here is a true story: Faisal Mehboob carries around an envelope full of toonies which is his shisha spending money for the week.  Perhaps spin it to say that before every game he has a lucky toonie (similar to how the loonie was buried in the ice for Team Canada’s games)?

- The feature game for Week Four will be Haya vs Ikhlas, Cambrige A vs Cambridge B, Khan vs Khan.  Years ago this game was a battle for first place, this season both teams have gotten off to poor starts and are at the bottom of the table.  That aside expect a great deal of intensity in this one and perhaps some fans showing up to support their respective sides.  Wakaas Khan is tied for the league lead in scoring, Waqar Khan has no points so far this season so a bizarre twist from what has happened in past seasons.  Furqan Salam leads Haya with three of the teams four goals scored this season and the pressure is on him to continue to carry the teams offense until some of their other erstwhile stars finally get going.

Fall Season - Week Three - September 29th

- Week Two saw Shukr flex their muscle for a big win over Ikhlas, Yaqeen grind out a 4-1 win over shorthanded Haya and Sabr stay undefeated and unscored upon.

Three Stars of Week Two:
1st Star: Fahad Mohammad (Sabr) - 20 save shutout
2nd Star: Kaunain Saiyed (Haya) - 29 saves on 33 shots
3rd Star: Khalid Mufti (Shukr) - 25 saves on 26 shots

- Rookie Goaltender, Fahad Mohammad of Sabr has started off his I-Slam career with two straight shutouts. But did Samad Hamidi help him out? In one of his videos, he predicted that Sabr would be able to shut the door against Emaan…in the last few minutes of the game, it appeared from the spectators vantage point that Idrees Deen of Emaan beat Mohammed with a laser of shot. However the two men in stripes disagreed with the fans and called it no goal. The moral of the story is Samad Cherry Hamidi knows hockey - so kids always pay attention in his videos

- After scoring the game winning goal against his brothers team, rookie Wajaahat Watsy of Sabr insisted that Jaudat Wasty carry his equipment and sit in the back seat of the car when leaving the arena.

- Another family feud will play out tonight at 8:00pm during the Emaan vs Yaqeen game.  Rizwan Malik of Yaqeen will see some familiar faces on the opposing bench as he faces Sadat Malik, Saleem Malik and Luqman Arshad of Emaan.

- After scoring the lone goal for his team Sahil Mohammed of Haya had a much more subdued celebration in comparison to his father Naveed Mohammed during the summer after Pakistan won the Champions Cricket Trophy .  The elder Mohammed reportedly drove around Brampton asking distraught India fans if they were okay while waving a Pakistan flag on his car.  

- There are rumours that Haya will finally have Waqar Khan in the lineup tonight against Shukr.  It will be interesting to see if Shukr follows the advice of defenseman and league pundit Samad Hamidi as he broke down how to shut Khan down.

- Aside from the family rivalry in tonights Emaan vs Yaqeen game, we have a friendly one too between Ahmad Mobin of Yaqeen and Ahmad Ibrahim of Emaan.  The two have a competition going into tonights game where if Yaqeen loses, Mobin will do 50 burpees and if Emaan loses, Ibrahim does 50 pull-ups.  If the game ends in a tie they both have to do 50 wind-sprints.

- We have a new goal-scoring leader going into tonight’s game and not one you would expect as defenseman Farrukh Khan of Yaqeen leads the league with with 4 goals.

- A few have asked why Haya's Waqar Khan is constantly referred to a "Boom Boom" and the story is legendary.  Khan is an avid cricket fan and can usually be heard talking about the latest cricket game after his game.  Well during the Spring Season, after leading his team to a Championship the team went out to eat together and celebrate at Galitio's in Mississauga.  As Emaan walked into the restaurant, who else but Shahid "Boom Boom" Afridi is sitting there eating with a group of friends.  Afridi was in town for an Islamic Relief event and happened to be finishing up his meal when Khan walked in.  In that moment greatness recognized greatness as Afridi quickly finished up his meal and his group left as Khan led Emaan in.  Regrettably a picture was not taken to commemorate the two icons crossing paths.