Fall Season - Week Six - October 25th

- Week Five saw Sabr defeat Ikhlas in a 5-4 shootout, Yaqeen grind out a win over Taqwa 3-2, Haya dominate Ridha for an easy 4-1 win and Emaan crush Ihsan 3-0.

After Week Five here are the Divisional Standings:

MECCA
RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Haya	5	4	0	1	9	18	6	12
2	Ikhlas	5	3	1	1	7	14	8	6
3	Emaan	5	3	2	0	6	14	10	4
4	Taqwa	5	0	5	0	0	4	17	-13
MEDINA
RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Sabr	5	3	0	2	8	13	9	4
2	Yaqeen	5	2	1	2	6	7	7	0
3	Ihsan	5	1	4	0	2	5	12	-7
4	Ridha	5	0	3	2	2	6	12	-6

*Only the top three teams in each division make the post season.

- Check out the Media Teams review of Week Five and preview of Week Six here.

- Haya is in the unusual position of being able to clinch a playoff spot with either a win against Haya or Taqwa losing their game tonight.

- The second round of divisional games was an even split with two wins for each division after the Mecca division dominated the first week of divisional games.

- Ridha may be close to hitting the panic button at this point as they sit in last in the Medina division and GM Farooq Sani will have to do something to spark this team.  The most obvious need is for another defensemen to help on the back end which would allow Sani to move up to forward and hopefully spark the offence.

- While Taqwa has not been mathematically eliminated they are in the tough position of needed to win multiple games and get help in the form of their divisional opponents dropping points.  Possible but definitely a much more difficult path than they would have liked.

- Speaking of struggling offence, Yaqeen broke out of their offensive slump as they put three past the goalie to break their run of scoring one goal a game in the first four weeks.

- Haya has received amazing value from Sufyan Shaikh and Ali Haroon who are both in the top five in scoring thus far this season.  Another steal that deserves mention is Mohammed Qureshi who is averaging more than a point a game and is top-10 in scoring.

- Ihsan has seen their well regarded offence post draft fizzle into oblivion as they have now been shutout three games in a row.  Week Six they play Haya who have the leagues best defense (along with best offence) so things are looking down for the boys in red.

- The game between Taqwa and Yaqeen was interesting to watch as both teams have struggled and during the draft Taqwa GM Ali Wadee and Yaqeen GM Arslan Mian sat next to each other and seemed to be openly exchanging notes.  One would question what was on those notes considering how their seasons have gone but in their game last week it was the younger Greenbirds that had the last laugh over the older generation.

- Ridha's struggles are well documented at this point but in a team full of capable veterans it is surreal to watch and many are questioning where the veteran leaders are and some have asked what type of influence they are having in the locker room.  One veteran observers are looking for more from is Kashif Taqiuddin as Coach K has been notably silent this season and has struggled to put his mark on games.

- Sabr has been dealing with injuries as Ali Murtaza has been out since picking up a lower body injury in Week One and now there are reports that Emad Hussain and Vasim Kazi 

- The moves that Emaan made have sparked this team to have them moving up the table quickly and they are undefeated since the acquisition of Arif Khan who has five points in his first three games with the team.

- Imran Lakhanpal continues the trend of ex-Taqwa players to flourish with new teams as he scored a goal for Ikhlas last week.

- Sabr and Haya remain undefeated after Week Five and depending on what happens tonight these two could face each other without a blemish to open up Week Seven which will be a fun game to watch.

- One observer remarked that Taqwa is like the DC Universe movie franchise, lots of big names on paper but the final product is a disappointment to watch.


- Reminder that while Eye Protection is not mandatory this season it is strongly urged that all players ensure to protect themselves.  There were some injuries last season where deflected balls hit players in the face and could have resulted in a serious injury to the eye.  Please take the time to consider your own personal safety and wear the appropriate eye protection.

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Fall Season - Week Five - October 18th

- Week Four saw Haya defeat Yaqeen 3-1, Ikhlas crush Ihsan 4-0, Emaan steal a 2-1 win over Ridha and Sabr defeat Taqwa 2-0.

After Week Four here are the Divisional Standings:

MECCA
RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Haya	4	3	0	1	7	14	5	9
2	Ikhlas	4	3	0	1	7	10	3	7
3	Emaan	4	2	2	0	4	11	10	1
4	Taqwa	4	0	4	0	0	2	14	-12
MEDINA
RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Sabr	4	2	0	2	6	8	5	3
2	Yaqeen	4	1	1	2	4	4	5	-1
3	Ihsan	4	1	3	0	2	5	9	-4
4	Ridha	4	0	2	2	2	5	8	-3

*Only the top three teams in each division make the post season.

- Check out the Media Teams review of Week Four and preview of Week Five here.

- The first round of divisional games showed how dominant the Mecca division is this season winning three of the four games over teams from the Medina division.

- Taqwa dropped another game last week, a tough one against Sabr where it was scoreless at the half but some late breakdowns saw Sabr score a pair late and get the win.  Taqwa seems to be trying to pull out all the stops as Osman Buttar showed up to help coach the team - sadly to another loss.

- Ihsan tried something new on the powerplay putting one of their larger defensemen in front of the net as a screen, a good strategy if you can control the ball and put it on net but Ikhlas was stronger on the penalty kill to snuff out their chances.

- Observers have pleasantly noted the form of Sufyan Sheikh who has looked strong this season and meshed with the style of play on Haya

- Some questioned Ikhlas brass when they named Abraar Gangat as captain as he is one of the youngest players on a team loaded with veterans.  The move has paid off as he scored a natural hat-trick and ripped apart the Ihsan defence despite arriving to the game after it had started.  It was noted that the Malton veterans may be doing this to pass the torch to the younger generation of Malton stars.

- The Ridha and Yaqeen offences are in need of something, anything to get on track.  Both teams are loaded with offensive players but neither seems to be able to get anything to work, Yaqeen scoring only four goals in four games while Ridha has managed five over their first four games.

- Some familiar faces were noted in the audience last week as Sufyan Kazi and Huzaifah Panchbaya were seen taking in some games.  They seemed to be impressed with the offensive explosion from fellow Rising Star Abraar Gangat.

- This was the first week since the season started where there as no trade activity but that can always change with a quick conversation between GMs.  Interestingly quite a few GMs were seen in deep discussion in what can only be assumed to be some type of trade talk.  In that regard there are some teams like Sabr, Ikhlas, Emaan and Haya that are unlikely to make any changes unless an offer they cannot refuse is put in front of their nose.  That leaves four teams that are likely to try and do something to turn their season around.
> Ihsan has made their big move but at a heavy cost, remains to be seen if they need to do something more to turn their season around
> Ridha was one of the top teams on paper coming out of the draft but has failed to generate enough offence to stay in games.  They already have a wealth of forwards so switching one out for a fresh face may spark something
> Yaqeen scarified one of their defensemen to obtain Erfan Bhanapatel and they may need to make a move now to shore up the backend
> Taqwa has already made moves but watch in horror as the players going out suddenly found their form.  The players coming in have helped to make the team more competitive but it remains to be seen how much time GM Ali Wadee will give his team before making another move

- Ikhlas has been a great surprise this season, a blowout win over Ihsan showed how strong they are but it was their goaltending that has gone without enough recognition.  When GM Mazhar Hussain grabbed his brother Yasir Hussain with the 38th overall pick there were murmurs of reaching too early for his elder brother but Yasir has more than paid back on where he was drafted.  He leads the league with a sparkling 0.75 GAA and .953 Save percentage.

- Reminder that while Eye Protection is not mandatory this season it is strongly urged that all players ensure to protect themselves.  There were some injuries last season where deflected balls hit players in the face and could have resulted in a serious injury to the eye.  Please take the time to consider your own personal safety and wear the appropriate eye protection.

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Fall Season - Week Four - October 11th

- Week Three saw Sabr and Ridha end in a 2-2 tie, Yaqeen defeat Ihsan 1-0, Emaan demolish Taqwa 6-2 and Haya vs Ikhlas end in a 3-3 tie.

After Week Three here is the Divisional Standings:

MECCA
RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Haya	3	2	0	1	5	11	4	7
2	Ikhlas	3	2	0	1	5	6	3	3
3	Emaan	3	1	2	0	2	9	9	0
4	Taqwa	3	0	3	0	0	2	12	-10
MEDINA
RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Sabr	3	1	0	2	4	6	5	1
2	Yaqeen	3	1	0	2	4	3	2	1
3	Ihsan	3	1	2	0	2	5	5	0
4	Ridha	3	0	1	2	2	4	6	-2

*Only the top three teams in each division make the post season.

- Check out the Media Teams review of Week Three and preview of Week Four here.

- After the first three weeks of the season, the first round of divisional games are complete as teams now get a chance to play cross divisional opponents for the next four weeks.  Bragging rights are at stake about which division is tougher but teams will also want to ensure that they keep pace in the race for a playoff spot as the season moves forward.

- There were a pair of trades made during the week, check out the Transaction Page for details.

- A big scoring output from Emaan saw the League Leader in Points break the seven way tie as Yusuf Ingar break out with a four-point game to jump to the top of the leaderboard with seven points in the first three games of the season.

- Early in the week, Ali Wadee mentioned to our insiders that he will be very active at the trade deadline and he isn’t very pleased with how his D has played so far.  While there was speculation that he may be targeting Salman Khalid, he went in a different direction and picked up Taha Azhar.

- Sabr short players for tonight, while we assume many have plans for the long weekend it comes at a fortunate time for the team as they play last place Taqwa who is trying to integrate new players after another trade and will lack cohesiveness

- After the trade they made to balance the lineup better, it is hoped that Ikhlas will feel more comfortable rolling all their lines throughout the game rather than rely heavily on their top line which leaves the team vulnerable to making mistakes due to fatigue.

- Ali Wadee was spotted at a Brampton 45’s rep game. He claimed to be there to support his nephew but Insiders think he was there for potential future draft picks he will draft in upcoming seasons.

- Emaan is reportedly resting Salman Khalid after a blowout win last week in an attempt to keep the Defenceman fresh as the team faces Ridha who has yet to win a game this season.

- The Haya vs Yaqeen game will have an interesting quirk to it as Samad Hamidi helped the Haya GMs during the draft with tips on who to select only for them to not grab him as well.  With his insider info on all their players he will be key for Yaqeen as they try to take down the first place team.

- Ihsan one of the teams debuting a new look after trades, hoping that their defence is revamped with the addition of Umar Mahmood and Saajid Bhayat.  Observers felt that after watching their team struggle in the defensive zone a move had to be made and GM Ajmal Esmatyar made the tough call to break up their strong second line by dealing Erfan Bhanapatel and Saqib Sheikh to balance the lineup better.

- Haya is getting great output from Ali Haroon who gives this team great balance and allowed them to remain undefeated thus far, he leads the team with six points over the first three games of the season.

- Taqwa had a new look after their big trade going into Week Three and while they finally scored their first goal of the season, had to watch as one of the players they dealt away in Arif Khan came back to haunt them almost immediately as he scored a goal and set up two others.

- Emaan has been without forward Azim Siddique who has yet to debut as we go into Week Four, the veteran forward is an important piece for the team if they hope to make a deep playoff run.

- Fahad Mohammad is known as a top goalie in the league but this season made the switch to play defence where he has been a steady force for Ridha.  With his team desperate last week and down a goal Mohammad stepped up to play forward for the final minute and potted his first goal with just 37 seconds left in the game to salvage a tie for Ridha.

- Zubair Wahid may have been held off the scoresheet for the first two games of the season but he broke out in Game Three with a pair of goals against Ridha.  A positive sign for Sabr who have been coasting with the contributions from across the line-up while Wahid found his rhythm.

- Reminder that while Eye Protection is not mandatory this season it is strongly urged that all players ensure to protect themselves.  There were some injuries last season where deflected balls hit players in the face and could have resulted in a serious injury to the eye.  Please take the time to consider your own personal safety and wear the appropriate eye protection.

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