Week Four - March 6th

- The big story of last week was likely Ikhlas getting their first win of the season after being dominated in their first two games.  A bigger feat considering that Ibad Khan was missing again.  Attendance has been a challenge for Ikhlas this season as Hammad Khan has yet to play a game and he was expected to help anchor the teams defense core.

- Haya came away with another win over Emaan but this one was more convincing than the first.  Ali Malik potted the game winner with some hard work and using his speed to his advantage.  Haya picked up Malik in a trade which has more than worked out for them as his game continues to grow.

- Sabr got a boost last week with the return of Yousuf Sowdagar from an ankle injury.  While he looked a bit rusty in his first action back, when he gets going it will be a big boost for Sabr who are already looking solid so far this season despite their loss to Ikhlas last week.

- Shukr continues to have penalty problems this season which has disrupted their flow with the constant penalty kills so better discipline is required if they plan on creating any type of consistent offensive pressure

- It's early in the season but already Furqan Salam has more points (4 points in 3 games) than he did in the entire Fall season (2 points in 11 games).  Good to see him back on track but if he starts to struggle, expect to see various meme's analyzing his struggles

- Shukr has had an anemic offensive showing thus far, with just 4 goals scored in their first three games, a combination of players not clicking along with trying to do make too pretty a play have hurt their goal-scoring but its only a matter of time before they start to put everything together - or at least that's what they keep telling themselves

- Umair Ashraf is either the most interesting man in the world or just enjoys seeing his name in this column (I am not complaining - I have a page to fill).  He recently talked of his enjoyment of listening to Backstreet Boys (with Facebook posts to support his devotion) and how he likes to sing their songs while playing to throw off opponents.  No word if this strategy works or not...its definitely different...it's not really hurting anyone...just annoying which is the point.

- Speaking of music, during the Spring Season draft Haya considered drafting Zayn Malik of One Direction in their transparent attempt to grab as many Malik's as possible but decided against it worrying that they had already filled their pretty boy quota when they selected Rizwan Malik

- The standings are pretty tight thus far with just one point separating 2nd from 6th place, only Haya has come out of the starting gate flying

- Big game this week with Ikhlas vs Cambridge Two (AKA Emaan) as Ikhlas tries to avenge their humbling 5-2 defeat to open the season which was kind to how badly they were dominated as they were outshot 43-13 and were overwhelmed

- Haya had a surprise guest last week as Naiem Malik showed up to support his family, he reportedly gave a riveting pre-game speech about taking the body and playing a tight conservative game.  Haya listened to what he said and went out and did the exact opposite resulting in a 5-2 win...

- Speaking of Rizwan Malik, there was some controversy as the I-Slam Hockey twitter account noted that Naiem Malik  was attempting to pull Rizwan Malik to another team, which Saleem Malik took exception too and released the following statement, "I'm fed up with how the media treats Riz.  It's not his fault he hurt his knee.  Rizwan is a heart and soul player and doesn't deserve to be treated this way.  You guys should be ashamed, you owe him an apology."  No word is a lawsuit is pending so stay tuned

Week Three - February 27th

- The biggest headline thus far has been the struggles of Ikhlas, with the best goalie and great pieces in front of him the fact that Ikhlas has been soundly defeated in their first two games is a shock.  True that Ibad Khan was a late scratch in their game against Sabr last week but their offensive struggles are unexpected.  They get a rematch with Sabr this week and need something positive this week or a trade is likely to happen to shake things up.

- Haya leads the league after grinding out a win over Emaan in an early battle of contenders.  The star was Yusuf Kapoor who made some spectacular saves in the final minutes to preserve his teams lead.  Kapoor was the last goalie taken in the draft this season but has played very well this season and is proving to be a steal for his team.

- Back to Ikhlas for a moment, they have given up an absurd 73 shots in their first two games, if you were looking at advanced metrics their opponents Corsi score would be through the roof.

- Sabr looked good in their last game and the return of Atif Mian was a great boost to their offense as he used his speed to eat up the Ikhlas defense, with the return of Yousuf Sowdagar on the horizon from an ankle injury this team is looking like they are poised for a solid season

- Shukr seems unable to get away from their penalty problems that hurt them in the season opener as undisciplined play gave Ihsan multiple power play opportunities last week, thankfully for Shukr their penalty killing was up to the task and then some as they scored a key shorthanded goal to give their struggling offense a boost

- Sadiq Rehman made his debut for Emaan after missing the opener with a wrist injury but did not suffer any setbacks and his performance will be key for his team to make a championship run

- Salman Alvi of Shukr has turned some heads with his play thus far, known for his big shot and offensive awareness it has been his hustle and speed that have his team giving him rave reviews

- Correction from last week, we noted that Umair Ashraf of Emaan was eager to watch the NBA Celebrity Game for his favourite Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, however he wanted to correct the record that his favourite Bollywood star is actually "SRK".  We regret the error.

Week Two - February 20th

• It was billed as Cambridge One vs Cambridge Two - or as one Ikhlas player put it, Cambridge One vs Emaan / Ikhlas vs Cambridge Two.  What it turned into was a pre-Valentine's Day massacre as Ikhlas seemed anything but the team that won last Spring.  Unable to get the ball out of their zone, they were outshot 24-5 in the first half but trailed only 2-1 thanks to the heroics of Ibad Khan.  The second half was much the same and the final score of 5-2 flattered Ikhlas who were outshot 43-13 for the game and it was only Khan who kept this from being a blowout

• Emaan looked strong as all three lines were flying, the only hiccup was the late announcement that starting goalie Sadiq Rehman was scratched with a wrist injury but he was capably replaced by Sheraz Mahmood in this game

• Ikhlas was missing some key players on D and it showed, when they have all their players it will be a better opportunity to gauge their team because this game was ugly

• Umair Ashraf of Emaan was distracted going into the big Cambridge game and was seen putting together this fan video for his favourite Bollywood Star participating in the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game

• Zaid Toorawa of Sabr is recognized for his offensive talents, his defensive skills leave something to be desired as he seemed to be trying to create offensive chances at both ends of the arena; best highlighted by his centering pass to an opposing Shukr forward in the final minutes of their match-up that ended in a tie

• Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin made his return after a lengthy layoff due to a serious knee injury, many thought his career was over but after a strong debut for Emaan with two assists and an end-to-end rush where he stepped through multiple Ikhlas players it seems like the only thing he lost in the layoff was his stamina as he described himself as being in poor conditioning.  Thankfully he didn't show up to the Emaan camp looking like this.  If Coach K can bring his leadership to Emaan then this season is already looking great for them.

• Waseem Bangash made an appearance last week, it was unclear if he was hoping to be added as a replacement player or looking to get his feet wet coaching Sabr after seeing the success Coach K had on Haya last Fall season

• Haya defeated Ihsan 3-2 or as one observer noted, the Malik's defeated the Soliman's

• Rizwan Malik seemed to be showing no ill-effects from the injury he suffered in the Fall Season and picked up an assist in his return which was great to see

• Sabr was playing shorthanded against Shukr but managed to get a tie, missing their top two picks in Yousuf Sowdagar and Atif Mian, Sowdagar is injured so they will be without him for a few games still while Mian was a late scratch as his family welcomed the birth of a baby girl - Congats to Atif and his family!

Week One - February 13th

- The draft was completed and there are always surprises in a pressure filled draft for GMs to try and build a winning team.  So here are some draft notes:

• Yousuf Sowdagar went first overall to Sabr as expected, despite the ankle injury that will keep him out to start the season, Sowdagar was the best player available in the draft so a no brainer here.
• Aazar Zafar was picked second overall, a bit of a surprise but a solid pick nonetheless as his speed and tenacity will serve Haya well
• Nauman Abbasi went third overall much to the pleasure of Ihsan GM Salman Khalid who wanted the speedy ball carrying style that Abbasi brings and planned to build his defence core around
• Khalid Mufti went fourth overall to Shukr who grabbed one of the top goalies available in the draft, never a bad strategy to start building from the net out
• Emaan grabbed Adeel Awan fifth overall in a solid move, giving them experience and scoring from the back
• Ikhlas picked Amir Multani with the sixth pick, many were surprised to see Multani fall this far in the draft but to the pleasure of Ikhlas GM Wakaas Khan he was able to grab a scoring forward
• Emaan surprised some (well maybe only me) by selecting Sadiq Rehman as their goalie, Rehman is solid but after all the friendly trash-talking from last season it was a surprise to see them grab him
• Ihsan was able to bring back many pieces from the team that made the finals last Spring and likely would have won if not for all the injuries that limited them in the finals
• Haya stayed true to expectations and grabbed anyone with the surname Malik; it worked well for them as they were able to grab some solid pieces along the way
• Emaan grabbed Kashif Taqiuddin in the fifth round, he is coming off a serious knee injury so difficult to predict how he will perform but if he is given a chance to coach, then "Coach K" may be able to get this team on a roll early
• Sabr lost out on a few of their desired players as their GM group had volume control issues, specifically Zaid Toorawa seemed unaware that in a draft you should be discrete on who you are planning to take next when your pick is not next.  Mustafa Alam tried to move their group away into a corner of the draft room before telling his Co-GM to stop talking
• Sabr also had some outside help for the draft as Waseem Bangash gave them a hand with identifying some of the newer players available; it will be interesting to see if Bangash shows up and tries to help coach the team he helped put together
• The plan was to give away a car to the player taken last in the draft, Rayhan Taqiuddin has reportedly been looking forward to taking possession of said car but due to tax implications the transfer has been delayed; to his credit Taqiuddin said he will donate the car to charity

- Week One has some interesting match-ups, particularly the Ikhlas vs Emaan game pitting the two Cambridge groups against each other, or as one Ikhlas player referred to it: Ikhlas vs Cambridge Two

- Emaan may reportedly be without Sadiq Rehman so securing a goalie from the list of available back-ups will need to happen quickly

Week 17 - Finals for Fall Tier-2 and Spring Season

- In an amazing turn of events, Zuhd came back to win Game Two and then scored in Overtime to take the Tier-2 Title.  Many had expected Haya to steamroll their way to the Championship after a dominant regular season but Zuhd was the only team that Haya didn't defeat in the regular season so the result shouldn't be considered a great upset.

- In the post-game press conference, it was revealed that Waseem Bangash was playing through multiple injuries throughout the playoffs which makes sense considering he won the Scoring title, tied for the Most Goals title and then went pointless in three playoff games.

- Speaking of injuries, Haya goalie Yusuf Kapoor pulled his groin early in the game but with no alternatives available gutted out the rest of the game, seemingly with a few of his teammates unaware that he was not able to move freely.  Despite the pain he hung in there to try and get his team the win and in Overtime made a spectacular save early to rob Zuhd and give his team a chance.

- Haya was also hampered by the absence of "Coach K" who celebrated his teams presumed Championship with a trip to Hawaii.  It was apparent early in Game Two that Haya seemed thrown off by not having him run the bench and an observer noted that the teams body language was all wrong.  This was the match-up that Haya wanted but clearly did not work out as they had planned.  But enough about the losers....

- Here they are, your 2014-2015 Tier-2 Champions - Zuhd

- Zuhd stepped up when it mattered the most as after dropping Game One of the Finals, they stepped up and won Game Two and then scored in Overtime to take the title.  They had a solid mix of veterans and youth and players with winning pedigree.  Fahad Mallik and Naeem Akhtar scored in Game Two resulting in the win but it was Huzaifa Manjra who was the key performer as he set up both goals and then scored in Overtime (cashing in on the hard work by Sulayman Azmat) to win the Title and earn himself Playoff MVP Honours.  Manjra also set up the OT winner in the Semi-Finals against Ikhlas so his impact was critical for Zuhd.  Manjra also picked up the "Mr. Congeniality" Award, in large part thanks to his Bollywood looks:

- Usamah Rao picked up his third championship in a row, post game he simply stated, "I really wanted this one" and walked away.

- Saqib Sheikh was involved in some controversy after skipping Game One however his experience in Finals and notably OT games was a boost for Zuhd.  In the post-game celebrations he was heard yelling, "I'm going to Denny's!" (most people say they want Disney World but to each their own...)

- Thanks to all players for another great season; with that said we are quickly approaching the Spring Season!

- There is a lot of chatter about teams wanting to trade up to acquire Amir Multani.  His speed, size and experience make him an attractive asset to pick up via the draft.

Here is the mock draft preview for the Spring Season:

2015 I-Slam Hockey Spring Season Draft Preview

Below is the draft order, based on the aggregate result of GM rankings by OC members:
 

Zaid, Zayd, Farrukh, Mustafa, Navaz	Akib, Sadat, Saleem, Luqman, Naeem	Salman, Ahmad, Yousuf, Hani, Farooq	Ahmad, Riaz, Arssal, Shuaib, Gehad	Furqan, Arif, Bilal, Jibran, Waqar	Wakaas, Umair, Ibad, Sajjid, Assad
Sabr	Haya	Ihsan	Shukr	Emaan	Ikhlas
#1	#2	#3	#4	#5	#6

So who will pick who? We won't know until Friday night, when the draft officially begins, but here's a mock draft for the players we think will go top 6:

1. Sabr:  Yousuf Sowdagar
Sowdagar  is currently suffering from a fractured ankle which has kept him out of all hockey action since late December. By his own estimation, he's likely going to miss close to half the season as he begins to recuperate. Injury or not, he's the best player in the draft by a fair margin and we expect him to go first overall.

2. Haya: Nauman Abbasi
It's tough to predict who the Haya brass will go with, but they did have decent chemistry with Abbasi last season as he brings some much needed speed to their group. But Abbasi's penchant for missing games might cause him to slide in the draft as the Malik's look to improve on last season's disappointment.

3: Ihsan: Amir Multani
I have no idea which direction Ihsan will go with their first pick. Last season they added a defender in Nadeem Qureshi with their first selection. Qureshi will be available, as will Belal Hafeez if they are looking for defensive help. They could also go with a goalie in Khalid Mufti but goal-scoring is also in short supply and Multani is fresh off last season's Spring Championship where he played a pivotal role. Multani might be the perfect linemate for Yousuf and Hani Soliman as he can bring much needed finish to the group.

4. Shukr: Junaid Mohammad
It's hard to peg the Shukr brass as this collection have never managed a team together before, but I can see this being a toss up between adding the goals that Junaid Mohammad is sure to produce or the goaltending of Khalid Mufti. Most teams err by selecting a goalie too early, so adding some firepower is never a bad way to go. Junaid has been, in my opinion, one of the purest snipers the past decade in the Muslim hockey scene. While his goal totals have dropped in Tier-1, the slower pace of the Spring season will allow Mohammad to feast on goalies.

5. Emaan: Belal Hafeez
I'm going with the friend connection here, plus if they add Hafeez, they are then free to move Jibraan Salaam up to forward if need be. Hafeez brings a big shot and a brash in-your-face style of defense that will help augment the skilled players they have up front in Furqan Salaam and Arif Bijabhai.

6. Ikhlas: Adeel Awan
Ikhlas will be looking to bring back as much as they can from last season's Championship winning core and Awan will definitely be a first round target of theirs. Unless they can pull some trades, the chances that they land Multani are extremely thin. But Awan will strengthen an already strong defensive back situation and he also has the ability to pitch in with goals.

- Make sure to follow us on Twitter as the Draft Results are announced live on Friday February 6th.

Week 16 - January 16th

- Tier-1 has a Champion as Ihsan defeated Taqwa by a 4-0 score in Game Three of the finals to take the championship.  Ihsan got goals from their second and third lines in this game which was what propelled them to the title as their top line was shut down.

Here they are, your 2014-2015 Tier One Champions - Ihsan:

- Taqwa put up a good fight but were missing key players Sami Choudhry and Mohammad Bilal who were not available to play.  They had others try and step up but it was clear that rotating players into unfamiliar positions impacted the teams ability to push the ball up and generate goals.  That said they did fire 32 shots at Ihsan keeper Ali Khwaja who put on a show with some spectacular saves in the shutout.  Ironically Khwaja was Taqwa's goalie in last years T1 finals so he gets his ring at the expense of his old teammates.

- Ihsan seemed to be trying to sabotage their lead in the game as they had a parade to the penalty box giving Taqwa ample opportunities on the power play but Ihsan's PK Unit (or more notably the aforementioned Ali Khwaja) held their ground.

- Taqwa's Zaid Toorawa has been taking some ribbing for his shirt ripping debacle (see here or here if you missed it) but to his credit seems to be taking it all in good stride with a smile.  Zaid seemed less effective in Game Three but had he been able to recreate the energy he brought in the Semi-Finals and Game One of the series, Taqwa may have been able to win.

- For Ihsan they had a number of heroes that got them the championship, Tariq Ayubi for one was playing through a painful knee injury and is reported to be undergoing a procedure on his knee this week demonstrating his grit to play though the injury.  Ali Wadee indicated that he too was playing through injury but being out of shape doesn't really count so....

- Ihsan's championship was also the first for both Ibrahim Hindy and Faraaz Alvi who were both emotional after the game taking it all in after so many years chasing a ring - reportedly they were taking turns with this celebration yell.  Hindy has played in every season since the league began so Ihsan's win has a feel-good thread to it.

- The Tier-2 Finals kicked off with Haya taking Game One by a 1-0 score.  A relatively tight game but Haya dominated most of the play and got the late winner off a great solo effort from Aazar Zafar who turned a faceoff deep in the Zuhd zone into an unexpected goal.

- Haya players talked after the game about how they were displeased with the score and expected to win by more considering how they controlled the game and outshot Zuhd 25-15.  Considering they were without Mehmed Rizvanovic and still controlled the play shows just how deep they are.  In fact Haya was so confident in their depth that they put their third line out for the final minute to close out the game and the third line stepped up shutting Zuhd down to hold the 1-0 win.

- Some unconfirmed controversy for Zuhd involves Saqib Sheikh as he missed Game One of the finals and was accused of missing the game to grab a meal at Denny's...let's hope this one isn't true because...well nothing should ever be prioritized below Denny's.

- Haya goes into Game Two this week needing just a tie to lock up the championship but assuredly they will be looking to put a stamp on their season with another big win over Zuhd.  Their job may be a bit tougher without Coach K behind the bench as he took an early celebration trip to Hawaii.

Week Fifteen - January 9th

- Game Two of the Tier-1 Finals was another interesting one, the game ended with a 5-3 final score but does not reflect how fast and close this game really was.  Ihsan opened the scoring just 39 seconds into the game only to have Taqwa tie it up 31 seconds later.  Ihsan then went on to score two goals in 12 seconds and added another to make it 4-1 going into the half with all the momentum.  Yet Taqwa made it a 4-3 game before Ihsan got an empty netter to clinch it.  A bounce here and there and this could have easily have been another overtime game.

- Taqwa must be feeling a bit of deja vu from last season where they won Game One of the Finals and drop Game Two forcing a third game - last year they lost Game Three in OT so they will hope to change that this time around.

- Ihsan looked unstoppable in stretches in Game Two and when they put up three goals in a row in the first half and led some observers thinking the game was on the verge of turning into a blowout.  Taqwa managed to get their team defense back in order but Ihsan got some great jump from their second and third line which helped them build an early lead.

- Taqwa lacked a jump from their third line in Game Two which can be traced to the absence of Zaid Toorawa who was in Detroit watching the Raptors game.  Toorawa has become a YouTube sensation thanks to this clip.  

- Game Three is expected to be a great game to determine a winner, Taqwa is rumoured to be missing some players which will hurt them but considering all the great talent that they have they are still in great position to win it all.  A key for Taqwa is composure as they have taken some terrible penalties in the playoffs and the poor discipline has cost them.

- Shaukat Khan of Taqwa has been having himself another fine playoffs with four points in three games and having won the Regular Season scoring title.  He has been a constant threat to score and as long as he is involved for Taqwa they have a great chance to win it all.

- Back to Zaid Toorawa for a moment, is it strange that he seemed so comfortable with having another man rip his clothes off?  An equally disturbing thought is how he has taken a number of Road Trips with Waseem Bangash - so one wonders if the two have ever been caught on the "Kiss Cam" and how they handled that situation.  Here is another angle on his failed shirt rip that went viral on FailTube.  Let's hope he can redeem himself this week in Game Three.

- For Tier-2 we now have our finals match-up of Haya versus Zuhd in a rare (and possibly first time ever) match-up between the First and Second seeds from the regular season in Tier-2

- Haya steamrolled Ridha in their semi-final game with a 4-0 victory that never seemed in doubt.  Ridha was trying to keep it tight and limit the chances for Haya but postgame, Coach K talked of his strategy to break the Ridha defense and that he did as his team scored four goals in the first and while they tried to state that they wouldn't run up the score the stats show something entirely different as they directed a total of 39 shots at Ridha goaltender Yasir Hussain, an astonishing amount and a testament to his strong performance at stopping Haya's attempt to embarrass his team.

- Zuhd squeaked out a 2-1 OT win over Ikhlas in a game that could have gone either way (as OT games often do).  Zuhd keeper Rizwan Ali bailed his team out of many jams with some big saves and it was an OT winner from Abdu Sharkawy early into OT that had his team advance as he chopped in a rebound from a Huzaifa Manjra shot.  Ikhlas was not able to finish their chances in close (and hit the post a few times) which cost them this game.

- Zuhd will need some big performances if they want to claim the championship, some secondary scoring from Manjra would be a benefit if he isn't too busy starting up his Bollywood career.

- Ridha saw their season end short of their final goal but looking back they made a great run as early in the season they had been written off and their GM group criticised for giving up on Nadeem Qureshi when he was traded away.  They had the last laugh as they earned some big wins and the final playoff spot.

- The (surprisingly) much-followed saga about Shoaib Bhatti and his retirement decision gave fans something to hold onto for Ridha.  Bhatti has been quiet on his final retirement decision but did take his family to Disney World over the break - it is not clear if he had planned this trip to celebrate his retirement or as an early celebration for a championship,  We will let his fans know if we hear something about the status of this veteran.

- Ikhlas fell short of their Championship goal but a couple of bounces and they would be in the finals.  With some strong talent and a good team approach they were competitive all season but a pair of key injuries hurt them during the season where points were dropped and lost them the first place berth they desired to have an easier path to the finals.  In a One-Game playoff anything can happen and post-game a few of their players acknowledged that they felt the game was theirs for the taking.  Credit should be given to their GM Team who drafted a strong team despite picking last in the draft for the first five rounds and built a solid third line which was key to their success all season.

- Speaking of Ikhlas, one player may be pleased that he won't have to see his name in this column anymore as Atif Mian seemed to come up regularly.  Whether it was his adoring fans, his knack for losing equipment or his great season he always found a way to make it in.  Seriously though, someone buy him a label maker so he can mark his things and find his equipment faster.

- Three players from Ikhlas and Emaan from the Spring season have the dubious honour of losing in the Semi-Finals in OT both seasons.  Khalid Mufti, Zuhair Fancy and Umair Ashraf seemed to be forlorn post game as the sting of this OT loss was piled onto the misery and lost chance for redemption from the spring.

- On a more positive note, Zahid Merchant and Usamah Rao won together with Tawakul last Fall and then with Ikhlas in the Spring however face each other in this years finals.  One will have their streak stopped at two while the other will have a personal three-peat.

- Players from Haya said going into the finals this was the match-up they wanted, despite their success against Ikhlas in the regular season they feared the experience and potential of Ikhlas more than Zuhd.