Spring Season - Week Thirteen - April 27th

- Week Twelve of the season saw the end of the Semi-Finals and what an end it was!  Ridha started the night defeating Sabr 3-0 to sweep their series while Shukr grinded out a 2-1 win to force overtime which solved nothing and to have Emaan emerge the winner in a penalty shootout.

1st Star: Hany Soliman (Emaan) - 2 goals in the shootout (see our Instagram for clips)
2nd Star: Ali Khwaja (Ridha) - Shutout win
3rd Star: Black Panther (Ridha) - 1 Goal, Game winning goal

- Some may call it bitter grapes, but Faisal Mehboob (Sabr) has predicted that Ridha’s offense will dry up when they need it the most play during the finals.  Ridha had enough to eliminate Sabr and Emaan isn't exactly a high scoring team so this prediction seems misplaced but during the last game of the regular season, Ahmad "Black Panther" Ibrahim did the Wakanda salute against Sabr’s backup goaltender after scoring which ruffled some feathers.

- One observer expects fireworks in the finals, noting that there are a high number of hot-blooded Arabs in the game.  Many remember the infamous "Arab Spring" team from a few seasons ago that imploded and those were teammates - lets hope for less of that when they are opponents.

- Reported Farrukh Khan (Ridha) is the guy who keeps his team pumped up in the Ridha WhatsApp group

- Some considered the Emaan draft strategy flawed to bring back so many familiar faces from their 2016 Ihsan championship team, but those pundits are watching the finals from the stands now so Emaan can have the last laugh there.

- Ridha fans felt that their dominant win over Sabr showed that the gamesmanship from Sabr during the regular season finale to have Ibad Khan dress as a forward and put Hammad Khan in net backfired and motivated them to step it up when the teams met.

- Kaunain Saiyed (Emaan) this is your time to shine! Not sure why he was the last goaltender picked in the draft. This was the second straight season he was clutch in the semi-finals in the shootout to send his team to the finals and he has a chance to make it back to back championships. If he continues to win, it is safe to say he won’t be the last goaltender picked in future drafts.

- Shukr had to feel burned after their shootout loss to Emaan in the Semis, Game One was Osama Soliman scoring a hat-trick where it seemed like Shukr was trying to set him up - turnovers that ended up in the back of the net.  Game Two they played much better and earned the win, Overtime solved nothing although they had some chances to win it only to have Hany Soliman score twice in the penalty shootout to have Emaan advance.

- The format of the Finals will mirror that of the Semi-Finals, best of two and if the teams split the points after both games then it goes to sudden death overtime and then a penalty shootout.

- Emaan superpest Rayhan Malik will surely attempt to get under the skin of some of Ridha's star players.  Ridha needs key players like Shaukat Khan and Mohammad Bilal to ignore Malik, perhaps turning to teammate Arif Bijabhai for advice who found a way to ignore Malik and succeed under the pressure.

- It was good to see Abdu Sharkawy play last week, we assume he medically cleared himself through the nagging injuries he has picked up these playoffs.  Ridha will need him to give his standard strong effort at both ends of the arena to succeed in the finals.

- It felt like Waqar Khan was on a Lebron James type of run for making it to the finals each season - that run ended as top ranked Sabr crashed out against Ridha.  The team was missing Naeim Malik on the blue line and was unable to cover that gap up which led to their undoing.

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Spring Season - Week Twelve - April 20th

- Week Eleven of the Season was also Week One of the playoffs and started with a pair of wildcard games which saw Emaan open the night with an upset of Yaqeen 3-1 while Ridha defeated Haya 5-3.  The semifinals had Game One played the same night with Emaan continuing their strong play defeating Shukr 3-1 while Ridha also continued their winning ways by defeating Sabr 2-1.

3 Stars of The Week:
1st Star: Osama Soliman (Emaan) - 3 Goals vs Shukr, Game Winning Goal and Shorthanded Goal
2nd Star: Shaukat Khan (Ridha) - 2 Goals vs Haya
3rd Star: Yusuf Soliman (Emaan) - 2 Goals vs Yaqeen

- Yaqeen was favoured going into their game against Emaan having a win and tie against them in the regular season but injuries and some penalties disrupted their game plan and saw the lower seeded Emaan pull off the 3-1 upset win.

- Haya won their regular season finale to punch their ticket to the playoffs and felt that they had momentum going into their wildcard game against Ridha which was only further amplified when they scored just 17 seconds into the game as Farooq Sani found the back of the net but Ridha tied it up just 24 seconds later to make it clear they were not going to let Haya pull away.  A back and forth game with was tied 3-3 with 14 minutes left in the game ended with a pair of Ridha goals punctuated by Ahmed "Black Panther" Ibrahim scoring with 2:24 left to give his team a critical two-goal lead and the eventual win.

- Shukr came out flat against Emaan and paid the price dropping their semifinal game by a 3-1 score.  Emaan played a much more physical game as they roughed up Shukr forwards making them tentative to head to the front of the net.  Osama Soliman was the difference as he scored three goals, with some amazing individual effort to get his team the win.  Each of his goals showcased his elite skills, the first goal using the defenseman as a screen, second goal was shorthanded where he was stopped on a breakaway but did not give up and overpowered two Shukr defensemen to score and the final goal where he went through a Shukr defensemen to get a breakaway to seal the game.  You can see two of his goals in this video, taken by one of Emaan's fans.

- The Ridha vs Sabr game was closer but after their dominant win over Sabr to end the regular season Ridha came in with some swagger and it showed.  The gave up the first goal but responded to tie it up just 39 seconds later and then stuffed Sabr's offense and controlled much of the play eventually getting the winner from Shaukat Khan with 8:48 left in the game which they held onto.

- After their big night, Emaan was feeling pretty good about their chances to make the final and the clip above sums up their night as Shukr had no answer to the dominant effort put forth by Osama Soliman.  Emaan's high tempo game is hard to shut down and Shukr will have to do better than they did in Game One were Soliman was able to run free.

- Ridha may have the win from Game One against Sabr but seem to have paid a price as Ahmad Ibrahim reportedly hurt his ankle, sources say he will play and Ridha will need the Black Panther there as his physical presence cannot be understated for Ridha to have success.  Abdu Sharkaway is also dealing with a back issue and possible injured kidney after taking a cross-check from Yousuf Sowdagar.

- Unconfirmed reports that Ahmad Ibrahim politely declined an invitation to attend the Smile Gala because he did not want to sit at the same table as Faisal Mehboob.  Friday nights at Moods are more than enough it seems.

- An unexpected result with the two First place teams in each conference dropping the first game of the Semi-Finals while the two "tired" teams showed more hustle to get the win.

- Tonight both Sabr and Shukr enter the night in a must win situation, in the two-game Semi-Final format, the team that will advance needs to earn more points.  This means that Ridha and Emaan hold the drivers seat having won Game One meaning that the only way for Sabr/Shukr to extend the series would be to win Game Two which will force a five-minute sudden death OT and if nothing is settled after that then a shootout.  A tie tonight does nothing so if Sabr/Shukr do not come out strong with an all-out effort their season is as good as done.

- Polls have been made available on the leagues Twitter and Facebook feeds so have your say!

- League insiders are picking Sabr to make a comeback as Ridha will be hard pressed to contain the leagues top two scorers in Waqar "Boom-Boom" Khan and Yousuf Sowdagar down for two games in a row.  The same insiders do not see a path for Shukr to make the finals, they looked flat in their game last week and Emaan is on fire right now and seem completely in control of this series.

I-Slam Hockey 2018 Award Nominations:
This is a two-stage process where GMs nominate players for the ballot and once all the nominations are in voting commences. Remember these awards below only reflect regular season performance:

Regular Season MVP:
___ Ahmad Ibrahim (Ridha): 5 Goals and 7 Assists
___ Ali Khwaja (Ridha): .914 sv%, 1.44 gaa, 2 s/o, 5 wins
___ Emmad Khawaja (Yaqeen): 6 Goals and 4 Assists
___ Fahad Mohammad (Shukr): .933 sv%, 1.11 gaa, 1 s/o, 5 wins
___ Ijaz Chaudhry (Ihsan): 10 Goals and 4 Assists
___ Kaunain Saiyed (Emaan): .842 sv%, 2.51 gaa, 0 s/o, 3 wins
___ Khalid Mufti (Haya): .870 sv%, 2.10gaa, 3 s/o, 3 wins
___ Maaz Haq (Shukr): 3 Goals and 6 Assists
___ Luqman Arshad (Ikhlas): 1 Goal and 3 Assists
___ Waqar Khan (Sabr): 10 Goals and 8 Assists
___ Yousuf Soliman (Emaan): 4 Goals and 4 Assists

Best Defense Man:
___ Arssal Shahabuddin (Shukr): 1 point
___ Emmad Khawaja (Yaqeen): 10 points
___ Farrukh Khan (Ridha): 3 points
___ Ijaz Chaudhry (Ihsan): 14 points
___ Luqman Arshad (Ikhlas): 4 points
___ Mohammed Hamoud (Emaan): 7 points
___ Naiem Malik (Sabr): 7 points
___ Nazeer Gafoor (Shukr): 4 points
___ Sahil Mohammad (Haya): 2 points
___ Shehryar Khan (Ridha): 10 points

Top Rookie:
___ Adam Younis (Shukr): 1 Assist
___ Bilal Khan (Ridha): 1 Assist
___ Humaiz Shahid (Shukr): 4 Goals and 1 Assist
___ Omar Ibrahim (Yaqeen): 1 Assist
___ Sami Zahur (Haya): 0 points
___ Tayyab Kalair (Ihsan): 2 goals and 1 Assist
___ Yousef Elsohemy (Emaan): 2 Goals and 5 Assists
___ Yousuf Chatha (Ikhlas): 0 points

Best Defensive Forward:
___ Abdu Sharkawy (Ridha): 10 points
___ Adam Younis (Shukr): 1 point
___ Ahmad Kaiss (Emaan): 4 points
___ Akib Malik (Ikhlas): 6 points
___ Amir Hanif (Shukr): 2 points
___ Farooq Sani (Haya): 10 points
___ Jawad Majeed (Ihsan): 1 point
___ Mohammad Bilal (Ridha): 7 points
___ Saajid Bhayat (Yaqeen): 3 points
___ Waqar Khan (Sabr): 18 points

Top Goalie:
___ Ahmad Mobin (Ihsan): 0 W, 2.95 GAA, .814 sv%
___ Ali Khwaja (Ridha): 5 W, 1.44 GAA, .914 sv%
___ Fahad Mohammad (Shukr): 5 W, 1.11 GAA, .933 sv%
___ Ibad Khan (Sabr): 4 W, 1.88 GAA, .884 sv%
___ Kaunain Saiyed (Emaan): 3 W, 2.51 GAA, .842 sv%
___ Khalid Mufti (Haya): 3 W, 2.10 GAA, .870 sv%, *lead league in shutouts (3)
___ Yasir Hussain (Yaqeen): 4 W, 1.80 GAA, .882 sv%
___ Yusuf Kapoor (Ikhlas): 1 W, 2.61 GAA, .844 sv%

ALL-STAR GAME ANNOUNCEMENT:
The Mecca vs Medina All-Star game is tentatively scheduled for Friday May 4th which will be Championship Night. It will feature players of the teams that did not make the finals. In order to qualify for this game players would have had to played at least six games during the regular season. Below is the list of players who made the all-star team based on their regular season play. Please note this can change depending on which teams are in the finals, where players on the wait list will make the team.

Medina All-Stars:

Player	Position	Team	Starter
Waqar Khan-Captain	F	Sabr	Y
Yousuf Sowdagar-Assistant	F	Sabr	Y
Ahmad Ibrahim	F	Ridha	Y
Ijaz Chaudhry- Assistant	D	Ihsan	Y
Naiem Malik	D	Sabr	Y
Shehryar Khan	F	Ridha	N
Farooq Sani	F	Haya	N
Abdu Sharkaway	F	Ridha	N
Mohammad Bilal	D	Ridha	N
Junaid Mohammad	D	Ihsan	N
Ibad Khan	G	Sabr	Y

Wait List: Humza Ali; Arsalan Mian; Imran Lankhanpal; Khalid Mufti

Mecca All-Stars:

Player	Position	Team	Starter
Emmad Khawaja- Assistant	D	Yaqeen	Y
Maz Haaq- Assistant	F	Shukr	Y
Yousuf Soliman	F	Emaan	Y
Rizwan Malik	F	Shukr	N
Mohammed Hamoud	D	Emaan	Y
Nadeem Faqiri-Captain	F	Ikhlas	Y
Osama Soliman	F	Emaan	N
Hany Soliman	F	Emaan	N
Nazeer Ghafoor	D	Shukr	N
Luqman Arshad	D	Ikhlas	N
Fahad Mohammad	G	Shukr	Y

Wait List: Mehmed Rizvanovic; Yousef Elsohemy; Saqib Khokhar; Yasir Hussain

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Spring Season - Week Eleven - April 13th

- Week Ten opened with the game of the night as Haya defeated Ihsan 4-3 to claim the final playoff spot in the Medina Conference, Ridha made a statement with a dominant 4-0 win over Sabr, Yaqeen defeated Ikhlas 2-0 to end their season on a high and shorthanded Emaan hustled for a tie with Shukr 2-2.

Here are the final standings in the regular season:

Mecca Conference :

RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Shukr	10	5	1	4	14	19	12	7
2	Yaqeen	10	4	3	3	11	21	18	3
3	Emaan	10	3	2	5	11	23	26	-3
4	Ikhlas	10	1	6	3	5	15	26	-11

Note: 4^th place does not qualify for the playoffs   

Medina Conference:

RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Sabr	10	5	2	3	13	22	20	2
2	Ridha	10	5	3	2	12	29	17	12
3	Haya	10	3	4	3	9	17	21	-4
4	Ihsan	10	2	7	1	5	22	28	-6

Note: 4^th place does not qualify for the playoffs   

Week Ten Three Stars:
1st Star: Sahil Mohammad (Haya) – goal to clinch playoff berth for his team
2nd Star: Ali Khwaja (Ridha) - 20 saves and shutout
3rd Star: Ijaz Chaudhry (Ihsan) - 2 goals

2018 Scoring Champion: Waqar Khan (Sabr) - 10 Goals and 8 Assists
2018 Goal-Scoring Champion: Ijaz Chaudhry (Ihsan) and Waqar Khan (Sabr) -10 Goals each
2018 Lowest GAA: Fahad Mohammad (Shukr) - 1.11

- The road to the I-Slam Cup officially begins tonight. Congratulations to the six teams that have qualified for the playoffs but from now on we get to see what each team is truly made of. Do not take the opportunity in front of you for granted as there will be a guy on the other bench that will gladly seize the moment. Point in case last week in a must win game for both Haya and Ihsan, Shuaib Hussein and Ahmad Mobin both played through lower body injuries to help give their team a chance to hoist the I-Slam Cup. In short, the stage is set for anyone who is willing to be in the spotlight.

- Tonight will be a wild night with four playoff games scheduled, the first two being quarterfinal games while the second two will be game one of the semi-finals.  While some would assume that having to play two games in one night is a disadvantage, the team that wins their quarterfinal game will have the adrenaline coming off a win and will be warmed up so Sabr and Shukr should take nothing for granted.

- Speaking of Shuaib Hussein (Haya), he left last week with what appeared to be a re-aggravated leg injury. Hussein remains a game-time decision, but if last week was any indicator expect Hussein to power through the pain.

- Has Black Panther gone too far? After scoring his fifth goal of the season, Black Panther (Ahmad Ibrahim- Ridha) celebrated with the Wakanda salute. Sabr players, in particular Faisal Mehboob took exception calling Ibrahim’s antics as “bush-league” considering the goal was scored against their backup goalie, Hammad Khan. Mehboob would add, “stuff like that evens out in the hockey universe… expect Ridha’s offense to disappear when it is most needed”.  It should be noted that despite Mehboob's frustration, he still went to Moods to share a sheesha pipe with Black Panther.

ALL-STAR GAME ANNOUNCEMENT:
The Mecca vs Medina All-Star game is tentatively scheduled for Friday May 4 (Championship Night). It will feature players of the teams that did not make the finals. In order to qualify for this game players would have had to play at least six games during the regular season. Below is the list of players who made the all-star team based on their regular season play. Please note this can change depending on which teams are in the finals, where players on the wait list will make the team.

Medina All-Stars:

Player	Position	Team	Starter
Waqar Khan - Captain	F	Sabr	Y
Yousuf Sowdagar - Assistant	F	Sabr	Y
Ahmad Ibrahim	F	Ridha	Y
Ijaz Chaudhry - Assistant	D	Ihsan	Y
Naiem Malik	D	Sabr	Y
Shehryar Khan	F	Ridha	N
Farooq Sani	F	Haya	N
Abdu Sharkaway	F	Ridha	N
Mohammad Bilal	D	Ridha	N
Junaid Mohammad	D	Ihsan	N
Ibad Khan	G	Sabr	Y

Wait List: Humza Ali; Arslan Mian; Imran Lakhanpal; Khalid Mufti

Mecca All-Stars:

Player	Position	Team	Starter
Emmad Khawaja - Assistant	D	Yaqeen	Y
Maaz Haaq - Assistant	F	Shukr	Y
Yousuf Soliman	F	Emaan	Y
Rizwan Malik	F	Shukr	N
Mohammed Hamoud	D	Emaan	Y
Nadeem Faqiri - Captain	F	Ikhlas	Y
Osama Soliman	F	Emaan	N
Hany Soliman	F	Emaan	N
Nazeer Ghafoor	D	Shukr	N
Luqman Arshad	D	Ikhlas	N
Fahad Mohammad	G	Shukr	Y

Wait List: Mehmed Rizvanovic; Yousef Elsohemy; Saqib Khokhar; Yasir Hussain

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