- The last week of the season saw Emaan defeat Sabr to take First Overall and the Number One seed for the playoffs; Yaqeen stun Ihsan for their first win of the season; Taqwa put up a season-high Nine goals against Haya to lock up third place and finally Ihsan close out the regular season with a win over Taqwa.
- Three Stars from Week Nine:
1st Star: Furqan Salam (Emaan) - 1 Goal, 2 Assists
2nd Star: Yousuf Soliman (Ihsan) - 2 Goals
3rd Star: Idrees Deen (Yaqeen) - 1 Goal, 1 Assist
- Yaqeen went into their last game of the season without a win, without a goalie and without much of a bench. Tanseer Khawaja stepped up to strap on the pads for his team against last season's champions Ihsan. What transpired was a shocker as Yaqeen rallied to take a 3-0 lead at halftime and hold for a 4-1 win. Ihsan managed a goal with just over a minute left in the game to avoid being shutout. A positive end to a tough season for Yaqeen, key players missing games hurt them a great deal as players were shuffled into unfamiliar roles to cover.
- Emaan may have taken first overall but an observer noted that can they overcome the Salman Alvi curse, Alvi a great player in his own right has never won a championship, Emaan managed to break the championship jinx for Kashif Taqiuddin a few seasons ago when Coach K lifted the cup for the first time - can they do it again for Alvi?
- Speaking of Coach K, there were rumours during Yaqeen's tremendous performance that there were rumours of Kashif Taqiuddin retiring at the end of the season. If he does hang up his jersey he at least goes out with a win thanks to his teammates.
- Ihsan was humbled in their first game, but bounced back against Taqwa in their second game of the night with fans noting that Rameez Siddiqi gets amped up whenever Yousuf Soliman scores a goal. It's unclear whether he's auditioning for a role as a hype man Soliman's alter ego of Drake but his passion is great for the teams chemistry
- Yaqeen's upset win also did one unexpected thing for the playoffs, putting Ihsan and Emaan in the same bracket as they could meet in the Semi-Finals.
- Veteran Naveen Mohammad managed to score in each of Taqwa's games last week, he'll be additionally pleased that the goals put him ahead of his son in the family race to see who scored more points this season.
- Yaqeen had a short bench in their game last week but that didn't stop their players from checking their phone on the bench to watch the live stream of the Leaf's playoff game. Players from Yaqeen were seen live streaming the Leafs game on their bench, the passion that unites us all.
Congratulations to the following winners of Regular Season Awards:
Overall Points Leader: Waqar Khan (Emaan) 19 points
Overall Goals Leader: Dawood Ciombar (Sabr) and Adil Patel (Taqwa) tied with 10 Goals each
Khalid Raheem Lowest GAA Award: Yusuf Kapoor (Emaan) 1.30
Look for the nominees of the rest of the Awards to be announced next week.
Friday 28 April 2017
Friday 21 April 2017
Spring Season - Week Nine - April 21st
- Week Eight saw Sabr shutout Ihsan; Emaan retain the #1 seed with a victory versus Haya; Yaqeen and Taqwa battle to a tie; and Haya claiming the last playoff spot over Yaqeen
- Three Stars from Week Eight:
1st: Saleem Malik (Sabr) - 1 goal, 2 assists
2nd: Waqar Khan (Emaan) - 3 assists
3rd: Assad Darr (Haya) - 1 goal, 1 assist, game winner
- Did you know that Sabr has shutout Ihsan in both of their games this season? In fact Sabr has four shutouts this season (ranking 1st) versus: Haya, Yaqeen and Ihsan (twice). Critics were wrong – seems you can find a D when you spell Malik
- Many people felt Sabr ran up the score against a short-benched Ihsan. When asked for a comment, GM Naiem Malik responded, “Are you joking? No one felt sorry for Sabr last season when y’all were racking up points against my squad. Also it should be pointed out that the first time we faced Ihsan we won 6-0, this time only won by four …” The point of contention was Sabr pushing the ball up and Ali Malik scoring with 13 seconds left considering Ihsan was short benched and forced to put a defenseman to play in goal. An observer noted that Ihsan didn't really show any emotion after being embarrassed like that – a bad sign for the teams state of mind as the playoffs approach.
- Ihsan did get one positive out of their game with Sabr, starting goalie Zaid Majoo was not available and in a pinch the team was forced to put a position player in net. Emad Hussain stepped up and despite limited experience as a goalie played well enough to give his team a chance to win.
- Emaan fell behind early last week against Haya and the team seemed to be out of sync but suddenly Waqar Khan seemed to wake up and start to take over the game. What caused his sudden jump start? It was the emergence of his "frenemy" Ahmad Hathout, also known as the Dark Knight or Batman, that seemed to spark Khan. The two have had a long standing rivaly until Hathout moved to Ottawa to bring his crime fighting talents to a the capital.
- Hany Soliman (Ihsan), last week arrived Friday afternoon in Toronto from Umrah and played his game! Hopefully for Ihsan he (and the rest of the Soliman’s) are able to overcome the shift in time zones before the playoffs.
- Many thought Abdu Sharkawy of Emaan was done for the season with a foot/leg injury. Thus, it was a pleasant surprise for the league and for his team to see him playing last week considering he watched his team play the week before in leg cast. No doubt he will be a pivotal cog for TMT’s playoff success.
- Yaqeen’s season ends tonight. It is a major disappointment for last season’s finalist. Players on this team are looking to erase this season from their memory banks as soon as possible. However, a loss tonight and they will forever hold the dubious record of having the fewest wins in a season (0). On paper this looked like a great team but player absences hurt them almost every week as players were forced to play different positions instead of preferred roles.
- Get your popcorn ready Sabr and Emaan battle it out tonight for the number one seed. Sabr has been the best team in the league for the past five weeks with five straight wins and outscoring opponents by a 21-5 margin - also getting shutouts in three of the past four games.
- Inside sources say Haya has decided to give Khalid Mufti the night off tonight so he can be well-rested for the playoffs. No word yet who will be in net for Haya tonight. It is possible that as a win cannot move Haya out of the wildcard game the team may rest some other star players – no word how the League Office will deal with this if it happens.
- Haya will be playing in the wildcard game next week. Depending on tonight’s results their opponents will either be Taqwa or Ihsan.
- With the end of the season that means it is time to talk awards! The first stage is currently underway as your respective GMs are nominating their own players for each of the major award. After the conclusion of tonight’s games voting will begin and will end before the start of the playoffs. These awards are based on how well players performed during the regular season. There are other awards which are not voted on but rather determined by stats:
Overall Scoring Leader: Waqar Khan (Emaan) 16 points - 3 Point lead over 2nd place Dawood Ciombar
Goals Scoring Leader: Dawood Ciombar (Sabr): 9 Goals - 1 Goal lead over 2nd place Adil Patel
- Will both Waqar Khan and Dawood Ciombar hold on and take home these awards?
- Three Stars from Week Eight:
1st: Saleem Malik (Sabr) - 1 goal, 2 assists
2nd: Waqar Khan (Emaan) - 3 assists
3rd: Assad Darr (Haya) - 1 goal, 1 assist, game winner
- Did you know that Sabr has shutout Ihsan in both of their games this season? In fact Sabr has four shutouts this season (ranking 1st) versus: Haya, Yaqeen and Ihsan (twice). Critics were wrong – seems you can find a D when you spell Malik
- Many people felt Sabr ran up the score against a short-benched Ihsan. When asked for a comment, GM Naiem Malik responded, “Are you joking? No one felt sorry for Sabr last season when y’all were racking up points against my squad. Also it should be pointed out that the first time we faced Ihsan we won 6-0, this time only won by four …” The point of contention was Sabr pushing the ball up and Ali Malik scoring with 13 seconds left considering Ihsan was short benched and forced to put a defenseman to play in goal. An observer noted that Ihsan didn't really show any emotion after being embarrassed like that – a bad sign for the teams state of mind as the playoffs approach.
- Ihsan did get one positive out of their game with Sabr, starting goalie Zaid Majoo was not available and in a pinch the team was forced to put a position player in net. Emad Hussain stepped up and despite limited experience as a goalie played well enough to give his team a chance to win.
- Emaan fell behind early last week against Haya and the team seemed to be out of sync but suddenly Waqar Khan seemed to wake up and start to take over the game. What caused his sudden jump start? It was the emergence of his "frenemy" Ahmad Hathout, also known as the Dark Knight or Batman, that seemed to spark Khan. The two have had a long standing rivaly until Hathout moved to Ottawa to bring his crime fighting talents to a the capital.
- Hany Soliman (Ihsan), last week arrived Friday afternoon in Toronto from Umrah and played his game! Hopefully for Ihsan he (and the rest of the Soliman’s) are able to overcome the shift in time zones before the playoffs.
- Many thought Abdu Sharkawy of Emaan was done for the season with a foot/leg injury. Thus, it was a pleasant surprise for the league and for his team to see him playing last week considering he watched his team play the week before in leg cast. No doubt he will be a pivotal cog for TMT’s playoff success.
- Yaqeen’s season ends tonight. It is a major disappointment for last season’s finalist. Players on this team are looking to erase this season from their memory banks as soon as possible. However, a loss tonight and they will forever hold the dubious record of having the fewest wins in a season (0). On paper this looked like a great team but player absences hurt them almost every week as players were forced to play different positions instead of preferred roles.
- Get your popcorn ready Sabr and Emaan battle it out tonight for the number one seed. Sabr has been the best team in the league for the past five weeks with five straight wins and outscoring opponents by a 21-5 margin - also getting shutouts in three of the past four games.
- Inside sources say Haya has decided to give Khalid Mufti the night off tonight so he can be well-rested for the playoffs. No word yet who will be in net for Haya tonight. It is possible that as a win cannot move Haya out of the wildcard game the team may rest some other star players – no word how the League Office will deal with this if it happens.
- Haya will be playing in the wildcard game next week. Depending on tonight’s results their opponents will either be Taqwa or Ihsan.
- With the end of the season that means it is time to talk awards! The first stage is currently underway as your respective GMs are nominating their own players for each of the major award. After the conclusion of tonight’s games voting will begin and will end before the start of the playoffs. These awards are based on how well players performed during the regular season. There are other awards which are not voted on but rather determined by stats:
Overall Scoring Leader: Waqar Khan (Emaan) 16 points - 3 Point lead over 2nd place Dawood Ciombar
Goals Scoring Leader: Dawood Ciombar (Sabr): 9 Goals - 1 Goal lead over 2nd place Adil Patel
- Will both Waqar Khan and Dawood Ciombar hold on and take home these awards?
Thursday 20 April 2017
Spring Season - Week Eight - April 14th
- Week Seven saw Sabr win a shootout against Yaqeen by a 6-4 score, Haya steamroll Ihsan for a big 5-1 win while Emaan defeated Taqwa 3-1 and Taqwa bounced back in their double header to defeat Haya 4-1.
- Poor Yaqeen, gave up a goal within the first minute of the game but bounced back by scoring three goals in a roe to take a 3-1 lead just six minutes into the game before letting Sabr back into the game and eventually losing 6-4.
- Sabr got the Saleem Malik show as he potted four goals, not to be outdone, Luqman Arshad finished with four assists.
- Sabr has quietly become the team to beat this season, they have the leagues best offense as well as best defense. They have been a point behind Emaan all season who have struggled to win games so it will be interesting to see how the two teams fare before meeting up in the last week of the season in a game that will likely decide first place.
- Poor Yaqeen, gave up a goal within the first minute of the game but bounced back by scoring three goals in a roe to take a 3-1 lead just six minutes into the game before letting Sabr back into the game and eventually losing 6-4.
- Sabr got the Saleem Malik show as he potted four goals, not to be outdone, Luqman Arshad finished with four assists.
- Sabr has quietly become the team to beat this season, they have the leagues best offense as well as best defense. They have been a point behind Emaan all season who have struggled to win games so it will be interesting to see how the two teams fare before meeting up in the last week of the season in a game that will likely decide first place.
Thursday 6 April 2017
Spring Season - Week Seven - April 7th
- Week Six saw Emaan double up on Yaqeen by a score of 4-2; Sabr score a goal with 21 seconds remaining to pick up a victory against Haya; Ihsan moving up in the standings after dispatching Taqwa 5-2.
Three Stars from Week Six:
1st: Yousuf Sowdagar (Ihsan) - 2 Goals, GWG
2nd: Waqar Khan (Emaan) - 2 Goals, 3 Points
3rd: Ahmad Mobin / Farzan Alam (Sabr) - Combined 18 save shutout
- Haya must be kicking themselves after letting a point slip away against Sabr. After having a powerplay near the end of the game with a chance to pick up two huge points, Haya didn't make a line change leaving their fatigued players on the floor. This slight opening was all that Sabr needed to come away with the victory. For Haya what were they thinking? That was amateur coaching at best and now find themselves in a dog fight for the last playoff spot.
- Speaking of the playoffs, Emaan has officially clinched while Sabr and Ihsan are ready to punch their ticket. It is just a matter of time until Taqwa joins them. This leaves Haya and Yaqeen (the two win-less teams) vying for that last spot.
- Going back to that Haya vs Sabr game, Haya had everything lined up for them so perfectly! Ahmad Mobin, the Sabr goalie showed up to his game late forcing Farzan Alam to strap on the pads. Haya couldn't take advantage of this early Eid gift, ultimately having themselves to blame. As for Mobin showing up late, Gm Naeim Malik said it will be handled internally.
- Although he showed up late, he didn't disappoint. Ahmad Mobin is red-hot, only allowing one goal in his past three games.
- Last week, Ali Malik (Sabr) appeared a serious threat to dethrone Waqar Khan (Emaan) as the league's leading top point getter. However, Khan's 3-point night sent a message to the rest of the league he is still the boss around here. But with that said there are now more challengers that are within striking distance: Furqan Salam (Emaan), Yousuf Soliman (Ihsan), Adil Patel (Taqwa), Akib Malik (Sabr) and Ali Malik (Sabr). It will be interesting to see if Waqar can still retain his title
- Oh man, speaking of Emaan, their captain Adeel Awan went down behind the net injuring his ankle. Unfortunately his season is over and had to be replaced. His brother Umair Awan will take his place and try to lead TMT back to the promise land
- Umair Awan was the only player movement we had before trade deadline. It was speculated that Jaudat Watsy (aka Jedi) was on the market as a potential reunion with his Fall Season team in Emaan, call it the "Return of the Jedi". Not sure why this deal fell through, but we speculate Jaudat's injury he sustained on his hand after combating storm troopers over the weekend might have factored in.
- Shutout to the young guys, who are developing their games right in front of our eyes. First Ahmad Kasis (Ihsan) scored the GWG against Taqwa. In the same game Sahil Mohammad (Taqwa) found twine. After scoring, Sahil touched his heart, pointed east towards Pakistan and started to sing the National Anthem. He later clarified that he wasn't trying to show up Ihsan but rather was paying respect to his father Doctor Naveed Mohammad who is currently away on a Public Health mission in that region. Not privy to his intention, when Ahmad Ibrahim (Ihsan) scored he began to sing the Egyptian national anthem.
- House-keeping items: Games will be played next Friday; You need to play at least three games in order to be eligible for the playoffs; If you switch jersey with one of your teammates please let the scorekeeper know so they can make the appropriate changes on the score-sheet or else don't complain if your stats haven't been recorded properly!
Three Stars from Week Six:
1st: Yousuf Sowdagar (Ihsan) - 2 Goals, GWG
2nd: Waqar Khan (Emaan) - 2 Goals, 3 Points
3rd: Ahmad Mobin / Farzan Alam (Sabr) - Combined 18 save shutout
- Haya must be kicking themselves after letting a point slip away against Sabr. After having a powerplay near the end of the game with a chance to pick up two huge points, Haya didn't make a line change leaving their fatigued players on the floor. This slight opening was all that Sabr needed to come away with the victory. For Haya what were they thinking? That was amateur coaching at best and now find themselves in a dog fight for the last playoff spot.
- Speaking of the playoffs, Emaan has officially clinched while Sabr and Ihsan are ready to punch their ticket. It is just a matter of time until Taqwa joins them. This leaves Haya and Yaqeen (the two win-less teams) vying for that last spot.
- Going back to that Haya vs Sabr game, Haya had everything lined up for them so perfectly! Ahmad Mobin, the Sabr goalie showed up to his game late forcing Farzan Alam to strap on the pads. Haya couldn't take advantage of this early Eid gift, ultimately having themselves to blame. As for Mobin showing up late, Gm Naeim Malik said it will be handled internally.
- Although he showed up late, he didn't disappoint. Ahmad Mobin is red-hot, only allowing one goal in his past three games.
- Last week, Ali Malik (Sabr) appeared a serious threat to dethrone Waqar Khan (Emaan) as the league's leading top point getter. However, Khan's 3-point night sent a message to the rest of the league he is still the boss around here. But with that said there are now more challengers that are within striking distance: Furqan Salam (Emaan), Yousuf Soliman (Ihsan), Adil Patel (Taqwa), Akib Malik (Sabr) and Ali Malik (Sabr). It will be interesting to see if Waqar can still retain his title
- Oh man, speaking of Emaan, their captain Adeel Awan went down behind the net injuring his ankle. Unfortunately his season is over and had to be replaced. His brother Umair Awan will take his place and try to lead TMT back to the promise land
- Umair Awan was the only player movement we had before trade deadline. It was speculated that Jaudat Watsy (aka Jedi) was on the market as a potential reunion with his Fall Season team in Emaan, call it the "Return of the Jedi". Not sure why this deal fell through, but we speculate Jaudat's injury he sustained on his hand after combating storm troopers over the weekend might have factored in.
- Shutout to the young guys, who are developing their games right in front of our eyes. First Ahmad Kasis (Ihsan) scored the GWG against Taqwa. In the same game Sahil Mohammad (Taqwa) found twine. After scoring, Sahil touched his heart, pointed east towards Pakistan and started to sing the National Anthem. He later clarified that he wasn't trying to show up Ihsan but rather was paying respect to his father Doctor Naveed Mohammad who is currently away on a Public Health mission in that region. Not privy to his intention, when Ahmad Ibrahim (Ihsan) scored he began to sing the Egyptian national anthem.
- House-keeping items: Games will be played next Friday; You need to play at least three games in order to be eligible for the playoffs; If you switch jersey with one of your teammates please let the scorekeeper know so they can make the appropriate changes on the score-sheet or else don't complain if your stats haven't been recorded properly!
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