I-Slam Ball Hockey News and Rumours: April 2019

Friday 26 April 2019

Spring Season - Week Fifteen - April 26th Finals!

- Week Fourteen featured Game One of the finals, a hyped up affair the ended in up Ikhlas walking off with a dominant 3-1 win over Shukr.

Three Stars of the Week for April 19th:

1st Star: Sufyan Shaikh (Ikhlas): 2 Goals,GWG

2nd Star: Zubair Wahid (Ikhlas): 3 Assists

3rd Star: Tayyab Kalair (Shukr): 1 Goal

- A reminder again about Player Health and Safety and the need for players to wear a visor or cage while playing, accidents will happen and we want to ensure that everyone participates in a safe environment.

- Game One of the Finals was billed as a clash of two hot teams but Ikhlas sure did cool Shukr down quickly, the talented offence of Shukr was held to six shots on goal and never seemed to be in this game.

- Ikhlas had their plan drawn out by Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin which they followed to a tee as Shukr has their top line shut down with few chances generated. His strategy has snuffed out the offensive dynamos from Ridha, Haya and now Shukr in the playoffs and has been the driver to this teams success.

- During the game is was observed that Mohammad Hamoud had his phone out to keep up to date with the Leafs game while another phone was streaming the Raptors game. One might perceive this as a distraction but not Ikhlas who dominated this night.

- Much has been made of the Shukr/Ikhlas deal the was made at the Trade Deadline but it is hard not to look at that transaction as the difference here. In a move to pour more salt in the wound, Zaid Toorawa opened the scoring while Sufyan Shaikh score the next two goals including the winner. To have a pair of players dealt away come back and haunt you in the finals is a rare sight to see but here we are. On the flip side pressure continues to mount on young Arslan Mian who has been a shadow in the Shukr lineup since the deal. It has gotten to the point where some speculate that Ikhlas made sure to showcase Mian to inflate his value and then flipped him for a pair of players they knew were more talented.

- Zubair Wahid has come up in talks of Playoff MVP, he torched Shukr by setting up all three goals in Game One of the finals and was key in the defeats of Ridha and Haya leading to the finals. After struggling with injuries in his first season his health and performance in the Ikhlas system has been great to see.

- The Game One result has to be a bitter pill for Arslan Mian who was drafted early by Ikhlas and then helped Luqman Arshad build the team, offering his insight and scouting notes. Looking back now Mian contributed to the drafting of this team and then was dumped, just more salt in the wound here.

- From his game one performance, it is clear that the dressing down that Zaid Toorawa received from Coach K worked as Toorawa did everything that was asked of him to try and redeem himself in the eyes of his new mentor. Postgame he was asked about his feelings around his old team and said it was similar to this. He celebrated his performance in Game One with a trip to Orlando to watch the Raptors defeat the Magic.

- There are reports that Kashif Taqiuddin is battling the flu and may not be dressed for tonights game. If this is true it is a huge blow to Ikhlas who will have to rally to replace his contributions on the floor and in the locker-room. That said they may not miss his Maple Leaf hating and talking of how Ikhlas needs to model their play after the Islanders more.

- Sufyan Shaikh was reported to be skipping ice hockey to keep himself fresh for Game Two and help his team close out the series.

- Award nominees have been announced on Social Media and the winners will be announced tonight after the finals, make sure to show up and support your teammates and brothers who are in line for some personal recognition along with the seeing this seasons Champion crowned!

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

- 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
- Listen in on Podcast Three featuring Arif Khan and Hannan Ghafoor discussing the 2019 Wildcard Playoff games

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

Friday 19 April 2019

Spring Season - Week Fourteen - April 19th Finals!

- Week Fourteen featured the second game of the SemiFinals with Shukr dominating Ihsan to advance to the finals after a 5-2 win while Haya won Game Two over Ikhlas to force Overtime where Ikhlas got the most fortunate of bounces to steal a win and advance to the finals.

Three Stars of the Week for April 12th:

1st Star: Erfan Bhanapatel (Shukr): 4 Goals,GWG

2nd Star: Humza Chaudhry (Shukr): 3 Assists

3rd Star: Fahad Mohammad (Haya): 14 Saves

- A reminder again about Player Health and Safety and the need for players to wear a visor or cage while playing, accidents will happen and we want to ensure that everyone participates in a safe environment.

- When Shukr needed it the most their star players stepped up as Erfan Bhanapatel lit up the Ihsan defence for four goals while Humza Chaudhry was a force picking up three assists. With their stars picking up their play Shukr has to be confident going into the finals.

- After being written off by all the pundits, Haya put up a great effort in Game Two where they controlled a lot of the play but were not rewarded for their efforts until the final seconds when Humza Ali poked in a loose ball to give Haya a 1-0 win and force overtime. Fate can sometimes be cruel as Haya had chances early in overtime but did not convert and after a tripping penalty was called on Arssal Shahabuddin, Ikhlas got the space they needed to try and get a goal. Tahir Maarouf made the veteran play to shoot the ball wide of the net to avoid getting blocked but had his shot hit the partition and go towards the net where Fahad Mohammad had to try and awkwardly deal with the shot - it hit the rim of his glove and deflected into the net giving Ikhlas the win.

- Both semifinal games had some unfortunate injuries, Faraaz Alvi of Shukr took an unexpected hit from an Ihsan player with the ball trying to create space and went down with what was believed to be a mild concussion and neck injury. To be safe paramedics were called to make sure nothing worse had happened. For Ikhlas, Luqman Arshad and Abu Manjra collided with both players going down and pair of scary injuries, thankfully Abdu Sharkawy of Haya there to treat the players, for Alvi making sure that no further damage could happen before paramedics arrived while in the latter case patching up Arshad who sustained a nasty cut. Sharkawy suggested that both players in the Ikhlas incident sit as both were visibly shaken but Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin was having none of that as he pushed both players back out onto the floor as soon as possible seeing that Ikhlas was on their heels.

- Ikhlas had some injury issues during the game but Haya had their own problems to deal with as Abdu Sharkawy was playing through a back and calf issue while right before the second period Haya also lost defensemen Omar Essawi who had to rush to the hospital as his wife went into labour. He got there in time and mother and daughter are doing well which was good news to his teammates who insisted he go knowing that it would leave the team short on the backline.

- Many Ikhlas players seemed unaware of the rules around the Semifinals as after Haya scored in the final seconds to win Game Two, Ikhlas players derided their celebrations saying that Haya was still going to lose the series since Ikhlas won Game One by a 3-1 score. Mohammed Hamoudi was seen laughing at Haya until he was reminded by the refs that the series was not a two-game aggregate score like Champions League Soccer and the series was about to go to overtime. Suffice to say the Ikhlas mood right before the overtime period reflected their shock and explained their poor play where they seemed destined to lose.

- For Haya's equalizing goal, Zaid Toorawa made costly turnover while trying to shoot on an empty net, that allowed Haya to get possession back and ended up with them scoring with seconds left. Before Overtime started all of his teammates took turns chewing him out before Coach K took him to the side and gave him a final dressing down before leaving him in the corner of the bench alone. A moment captured here.

- The winning goal for Ikhlas was actually captured on video by some of the passionate fans of Ikhlas who positioned themselves behind Fahad Mohammad to heckle him hoping to make a difference for Ikhlas. No word if they did in fact do that but they managed to get the winner seen here.

- Ihsan will look back at what might have been this season as they entered the playoffs as the top seed, the top two scorers in the league and one of the best goalies. Their open style of play focused on scoring worked well in the regular season but left them exposed in the playoffs where they could not protect their goalie in front and saw them bow out.

- It may not be March anymore but with the top two seeds getting knocked out of the playoffs suffice to say many pundits have their brackets broken at this point.

- Looking to the finals there are a number of interesting storylines at play as these are two teams that seem to have multiple links to one another:
- Erfan Bhanapatel will be facing against his brother-in-law Abu Manjra
- Zaid Toorawa and Sufyan Shaikh will be facing their former team Shukr while Arslan Mian goes against Ikhlas. Mian has not fared well since leaving Ikhlas and the boo-birds that he faced and Coach K leading a "We Don't Need Him" chant seemed to rattle the young winger.
- Another clash amongst family as Ahmar Wasif of Ikhlas will face Ahsan Wasif on Shukr.

- Coach K is riding a high as his beloved Islanders swept the Penguins out of the NHL playoffs and his confidence as a result is at an all time high. When asked about what his plans are for Ikhlas in how they will shut down Shukr he noted that he has played with Humza Chaudhry for many years and knows his game and what it will take to lock him up. For Arslan Mian he felt that he has already done enough to throw the winger off his game and the stats prove it as Mian has struggled since joining Shukr.

- Congrats to the following players who based upon statistics locked up Regular Season Awards:

Razi Ahmed (Ihsan): Points Champion with 20 points
Emmad Khawaja (Yaqeen): Goal Scoring Leader with 9 goals
Ali Khwaja (Ridha): Lowest Goals against with a GAA of 1.64

Friday 12 April 2019

Spring Season - Week Thirteen - April 12th Playoffs!

- Week Twelve featured the game one of the SemiFinals with Ihsan and Shurk ending in a 1-1 tie while Ikhlas dominated Haya for an easy 3-1 win.

Three Stars of the Week for April 6th:

1st Star: Abu Manjra (Ikhlas): 2 Goals,1 Assist

2nd Star: Ali Wadee (Shukr): 1 Goal, GTG

3rd Star: Mohammed Hamoud (Ikhlas): 1 Goal, 1 Assist

- A reminder again about Player Health and Safety and the need for players to wear a visor or cage while playing, accidents will happen and we want to ensure that everyone participates in a safe environment.

- The Ihsan vs Shukr match-up was everything pundits expected with a tight game featuring a lot of star power. Ihsan took an early lead as unsung hero Hannan Ghafoor who gave his team the lead in the first minute of the game. Neither team was able to connect until Shukr got a chance with the man advantage and Ali Wadee wired a point shot to tie the game up which is how it ended.

- Ikhlas vs Haya went as many predicted as Ikhlas came out flying and scoring on the first shift before adding a power play goal a few minutes later. A fluke bounce gave Haya a goal but Ikhlas never lost control of the game and an empty netter sealed the win.

- The Medina semifinal will be a winner take all after the first game ended in a tie, both teams are talented so this one will be a treat to watch.

- The Mecca semifinal has Ikhlas in the drivers seat as they dominated game one and only need to play for a tie in this game to advance to the finals.

- Observers were shocked at how dominant Ikhlas was in their game, holding Haya to a meagre four shots and maintaining possession of the ball for most of the game. Haya seemed to struggle in all aspects and the fact that they were not blown out is a testament to the play of goalie Fahad Mohammad who had to stop multiple breakaways and odd man rushes.

- There are trades that work out and some that don't, the Ihsan acquisition of Adeel Awan has been an under the radar steal as he has given a talented squad a steadying presence on D, physical presence with skill and a passionate leader. Another trade that has paid off is Ikhlas picking up Sufyan Shaikh and Zaid Toorawa as both have been instrumental to Ikhlas being the favourite to win the league with their speed and physical presence.

- Ikhlas dominated the physical play and was clearly under the skin of Haya players who seemed unable to handle the pressure of the playoff atmosphere. A lot of praise was rightfully directed towards Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin who came up with a plan which eliminated Haya's offence and even when Ikhlas was shorthanded they got the better scoring chances.

- There are reports that Ihsan may be without Sahil Mohammad for this game and is considering dropping Hannan Ghafoor back to fill the void. Ghafoor actually scored his goal while playing on D but then moved to forward later in the game.

- Congrats to the following players who based upon statistics locked up Regular Season Awards:

Razi Ahmed (Ihsan): Points Champion with 20 points
Emmad Khawaja (Yaqeen): Goal Scoring Leader with 9 goals
Ali Khwaja (Ridha): Lowest Goals against with a GAA of 1.64

Friday 5 April 2019

Spring Season - Week Twelve - April 5th Playoffs!

- Week Eleven featured the two wildcard games as Shukr opened the night with a dominant 4-1 win over Yaqeen in the first semi-final while the second game saw Ikhlas win a thriller in Overtime over Ridha.

Three Stars of the Week for March 29th:

1st Star: Humza Chaudhry (Shukr): 3 Goals,GWG

2nd Star: Akib Malik (Ikhlas): 1 Goal, GWG

3rd Star: Osman Buttar (Shukr): 3 Assists

- A reminder again about Player Health and Safety and the need for players to wear a visor or cage while playing, accidents will happen and we want to ensure that everyone participates in a safe environment.

- Shukr dominated Yaqeen but keep in mind that Yaqeen was missing one of their top players and leading scorer Emmad Khawaja which was too large a whole for the team to fill against Shukr - hence the reminder above about wearing a visor. That said Shukr did get a great performance from young Humza Chaudhry who was a man possessed out there putting up a hat-trick including the game winner. They will need more of that if Shukr wants to advance past first place Ihsan.

- Ikhlas and Ridha was a great back and forth affair with Ikhlas taking the lead twice in regulation only to have Ridha tie it up. The last Ikhlas goal was in Overtime which ended the affair as a breakdown in coverage left Akib Malik all alone in the slot where he finished off the game with a wrist shot to the top corner to the net.

- Shukr finally saw Arslan Mian hit the scoresheet as he had been pointless since being acquired in a big trade during the season. He had been moved to the second line in an attempt to take pressure off him to produce with longtime linemate Humza Chaudhry.

- Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin boldly claimed before his game that "he doesn't coach losers" and he was right this past week as his gameplan contained Ridha's top line for most of the game. A tight checking affair that saw his team take the lead multiple times and eventually secure the win in Overtime after some great forechecking against Ridha's best players.

- Ihsan will enter their game against Shukr as the favourite with their high scoring offence. It will be interesting to see these teams match-up considering that they are all teammates in other leagues. Also the family dynamics with some cousins lining up against each other.

- It will be interesting to see how Haya performs this Friday after sitting for the bye week and having some of their key players resting the last week of the season. The time off may make them a bit fresher but also a bit rusty so they will have to be strong right out of the gate against a hungry Ikhlas.

- Looking at the Ihsan vs Shukr match-up in a bit more detail, Ihsan comes in as the heavy favourite after finishing first overall in the league this season but Shukr was one of the few teams that gave them issues. The first meeting saw Shukr win 2-1 while the second meeting ended in a 1-1 tie.

- For Haya vs Ikhlas, it is actually the lower seeded team that many people are predicting to advance from this match-up. Ikhlas has lost only once in their last seven games and while the season series was split with each team winning a game it was Ikhlas who dominated the final meeting of the season between these teams. The trade that Ikhlas made to send Arslan Mian away and acquire Sufyan Shaikh and Zaid Toorawa has paid off greatly as both players have been a great boost for the teams offence.

- Congrats to the following players who based upon statistics locked up Regular Season Awards:

Razi Ahmed (Ihsan): Points Champion with 20 points
Emmad Khawaja (Yaqeen): Goal Scoring Leader with 9 goals
Ali Khwaja (Ridha): Lowest Goals against with a GAA of 1.64