Three Stars of the Week for February 22th:
1st Star: Rahman Rana (Ridha): 2 Goals, 1 Assist, GWG
2nd Star: Yousuf Sowdagar (Sabr): 5 Assists
3rd Star: Razi Ahmed (Ihsan): 1 Goal, 2 Assists
Here are the Divisional Standings after Week Six:
Mecca Division
| RANK | TEAM | GP | WINS | LOSSES | TIES | POINTS | GF | GA | GD |
| 1 | Ridha | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 20 | 11 | 9 |
| 2 | Haya | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 1 |
| 3 | Ikhlas | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 14 | 1 |
| 4 | Sabr | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
* 4th place in the Division does not make the playoffs
Medina Division
RANK
| TEAM |
GP
|
WINS
|
LOSSES
|
TIES
|
POINTS
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
| 1 | Ihsan | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 3 |
| 2 | Shukr | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 19 | -4 |
| 3 | Yaqeen | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 19 | -2 |
| 4 | Emaan | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 21 | -8 |
* 4th place in the Division does not make the playoffs
- Week Seven sees the cross-Divisional games finish before we go back to games within Divisions as the race for the playoffs heats up.
- Ridha has been on fire this season, if you ignore their opening game which ended in a close loss they are undefeated in five games and have dominated opponents. Their speed and skill have been tearing opposing defences apart and they sit at the top of their division and of the league.
- The much hyped battle of the winless between Emaan and Sabr was an exciting one as the teams traded goals the entire night. Emaan never had the lead but tied it up four times but a breakdown allowed Haris Mallick to score with just a minute left to give Sabr the win. A critical result for their squad who are trying to fight to get back into the playoff picture.
- Haya has been struggling of late, they were outplayed last week by Ihsan and took the loss as a result. They have managed to escape with a tie in other games where they could not get anything going but this time they could not pull it off. A side story to the game was a friendly challenge between family members as Imran Lakhanpal and Khizer Lakhanpal had agreed that the loser would treat the winners family to an outing. Imran get the last laugh in this deal scoring a goal and helping his team to get the win.
- Ikhlas pulled off a smash and grab in their game against Yaqeen last week. Yaqeen held a 1-0 lead and seemed to be on their way to a win when in the final 92 seconds things fell apart. Ikhlas scored twice as first Arslan Mian snapped in the equalizer and then he set up the winner with just 20 seconds left in the game. Apparently this crunch time effort was all that Shukr (coming off a humbling loss to Ridha) needed to see as a deal to acquire Mian was finalized a couple of days later.
- A pair of roster updates were made this past week, the official summary can be found here on the Transactions Page. But you are here for the unofficial analysis so here we go: Azhar Kalair dropped out due to injury and was replaced by Mohammad Patel who is the younger brother of Yaqeen GM Adil Patel. There was also a trade mentioned above between Ikhlas and Shukr which featured Arslan Mian being moved to Shukr to rejoin his friends and family while Firasath Ali also moved with him and gives his new team a physical presence in the back. Ikhlas did well in the transaction picking up Zaid Toorawa and Sufyaan Shaikh who are both offensively gifted forwards. Toorawa boasts a big shot with two goals (both game winners) this season and he has a bit of sandpaper in his game so a great teammate and frustrating opponent. Shaikh is coming off an injury and missed games early in the season so once he gets up to full speed he will give Ikhlas a big boost.
- The game this week between Ridha and Ihsan is a battle between the Division Leaders and a match-up for first overall in the league. Ihsan has played well of late but have a daunting task as Ridha has been playing at an elite level for the past five games.
- While watching Ridha pull apart Shukr, Farooq Sani of Emaan called Salman Khalid the Tom Brady of I-Slam with his calm level of elite play.
- Haya was viewed as one of the top teams at the start of the season but are now winless in their last three and have both Ikhlas and Sabr just a point behind them in the standings so their margin for error is slim at best.
- Sabr rallied for their first win as their top line carried them to the win, a concern is that they still are not getting consistent contributions from the rest of their lineup.
- Ridha is leading the league in a number of categories, Sufyan Kazi is making sure they also lead the league in penalties as he has made a second home in the penalty box this season.
- After a slow start to his season coming off a leg injury, Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin is starting to pick it up with an assist in each of his past two games. He has also been taking more of a leadership role and organizing his team which has seen them undefeated in their past two games. The trade that Ikhlas made also has his fingerprints all over it, Arslan Mian has been a protege of Coach K who has been able to get the most out of him over the years, Mian had put up four goals and three assists in six games before Ikhlas cashed out on him. The two players coming in will fit well into the fluid system that Coach K uses as Zaid Toorawa and Sufyaan Shaikh are both offensively gifted and fleet of foot.
- The trade deadline is early next week so it will be interesting to see if any other moves are made, Sabr has been quiet on the trade front but at this point we all recognize that they are one good offer away from making another move. When asked about any potential moves, GM Yousuf Sowdagar responded "No one is safe from being traded, even myself"
- Curious about the playoffs? You should be since that's what these games are leading up to! Playoffs start on March 29th with the QuarterFinal games for each division in a one-game elimination between 2nd and 3rd for each division. April 5th and 12th will feature the Semi-Finals for each division with 1st vs the winner of 2nd/3rd in a two-game series. April 19th and 26th will be the Finals in another two-game series.
- Week Seven sees the cross-Divisional games finish before we go back to games within Divisions as the race for the playoffs heats up.
- Ridha has been on fire this season, if you ignore their opening game which ended in a close loss they are undefeated in five games and have dominated opponents. Their speed and skill have been tearing opposing defences apart and they sit at the top of their division and of the league.
- The much hyped battle of the winless between Emaan and Sabr was an exciting one as the teams traded goals the entire night. Emaan never had the lead but tied it up four times but a breakdown allowed Haris Mallick to score with just a minute left to give Sabr the win. A critical result for their squad who are trying to fight to get back into the playoff picture.
- Haya has been struggling of late, they were outplayed last week by Ihsan and took the loss as a result. They have managed to escape with a tie in other games where they could not get anything going but this time they could not pull it off. A side story to the game was a friendly challenge between family members as Imran Lakhanpal and Khizer Lakhanpal had agreed that the loser would treat the winners family to an outing. Imran get the last laugh in this deal scoring a goal and helping his team to get the win.
- Ikhlas pulled off a smash and grab in their game against Yaqeen last week. Yaqeen held a 1-0 lead and seemed to be on their way to a win when in the final 92 seconds things fell apart. Ikhlas scored twice as first Arslan Mian snapped in the equalizer and then he set up the winner with just 20 seconds left in the game. Apparently this crunch time effort was all that Shukr (coming off a humbling loss to Ridha) needed to see as a deal to acquire Mian was finalized a couple of days later.
- A pair of roster updates were made this past week, the official summary can be found here on the Transactions Page. But you are here for the unofficial analysis so here we go: Azhar Kalair dropped out due to injury and was replaced by Mohammad Patel who is the younger brother of Yaqeen GM Adil Patel. There was also a trade mentioned above between Ikhlas and Shukr which featured Arslan Mian being moved to Shukr to rejoin his friends and family while Firasath Ali also moved with him and gives his new team a physical presence in the back. Ikhlas did well in the transaction picking up Zaid Toorawa and Sufyaan Shaikh who are both offensively gifted forwards. Toorawa boasts a big shot with two goals (both game winners) this season and he has a bit of sandpaper in his game so a great teammate and frustrating opponent. Shaikh is coming off an injury and missed games early in the season so once he gets up to full speed he will give Ikhlas a big boost.
- The game this week between Ridha and Ihsan is a battle between the Division Leaders and a match-up for first overall in the league. Ihsan has played well of late but have a daunting task as Ridha has been playing at an elite level for the past five games.
- While watching Ridha pull apart Shukr, Farooq Sani of Emaan called Salman Khalid the Tom Brady of I-Slam with his calm level of elite play.
- Haya was viewed as one of the top teams at the start of the season but are now winless in their last three and have both Ikhlas and Sabr just a point behind them in the standings so their margin for error is slim at best.
- Sabr rallied for their first win as their top line carried them to the win, a concern is that they still are not getting consistent contributions from the rest of their lineup.
- Ridha is leading the league in a number of categories, Sufyan Kazi is making sure they also lead the league in penalties as he has made a second home in the penalty box this season.
- After a slow start to his season coming off a leg injury, Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin is starting to pick it up with an assist in each of his past two games. He has also been taking more of a leadership role and organizing his team which has seen them undefeated in their past two games. The trade that Ikhlas made also has his fingerprints all over it, Arslan Mian has been a protege of Coach K who has been able to get the most out of him over the years, Mian had put up four goals and three assists in six games before Ikhlas cashed out on him. The two players coming in will fit well into the fluid system that Coach K uses as Zaid Toorawa and Sufyaan Shaikh are both offensively gifted and fleet of foot.
- The trade deadline is early next week so it will be interesting to see if any other moves are made, Sabr has been quiet on the trade front but at this point we all recognize that they are one good offer away from making another move. When asked about any potential moves, GM Yousuf Sowdagar responded "No one is safe from being traded, even myself"
- Curious about the playoffs? You should be since that's what these games are leading up to! Playoffs start on March 29th with the QuarterFinal games for each division in a one-game elimination between 2nd and 3rd for each division. April 5th and 12th will feature the Semi-Finals for each division with 1st vs the winner of 2nd/3rd in a two-game series. April 19th and 26th will be the Finals in another two-game series.
Make sure to follow us and get your friends to follow us as well (this is another way you can help grow the league!):
- If you somehow missed it, here are some of the video clips the league has put up to start the season along with our Podcasts:
- Pre-Draft GM Interviews
- If you somehow missed it, here are some of the video clips the league has put up to start the season along with our Podcasts:
- Pre-Draft GM Interviews
- Listen in on our First League Podcast! Belal Hafeez of Shukr drops in with some health and fitness tips.
- Listen in on Podcast Two featuring Abdu Sharkawy and Ahmad "Black Panther" Ibrahim who weigh in on a number of topics
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
Instagram: IslamHockeyCanada
Youtube: IslamBallHockey
- Listen in on Podcast Two featuring Abdu Sharkawy and Ahmad "Black Panther" Ibrahim who weigh in on a number of topics
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
Instagram: IslamHockeyCanada
Youtube: IslamBallHockey
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