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!):

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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
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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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