Fall Season - Week Three - September 28th

- Week Three saw Yaqeen and Haya end in a 1-1 tie, Shukr surprise Ridha for a 4-2 win, Sabr steal a late 3-2 win from Ikhlas and Emaan make a late comeback to end in a 3-3 tie with Ihsan.

Three Stars of the Week for Week Three:

1st Star: Sufyan Kazi (Shukr): 3 Goals
2nd Star: Ajmal Esmatyar (Ihsan): 2 Goals
3rd Star: Zubair Wahid (Emaan): 3 Assists

- A Leaf fan (Farooq Sani), A Senators Fan (Samad Hamidi) and a Habs Fan (Arif Khan) attended The Leaf’s Preseason Game this week. Only through I-Slam Hockey could this brotherhood be formed. Next societal barrier I-Slam Hockey looks to shatter is trying to accept Winnipeg Jets fan, Sulman Azmat (see here.)

- Speaking of Samad Hamidi, please make dua for him as he was involved in a car accident. Thankfully he is doing well and no major injuries were suffered

- After scoring a break-away goal in Week 1, Taqwa’s Rameez Siddiqui has been reportedly hitting the gym hoping to consistently contribute to the offense

- Late in last week’s game, with Emaan down by two goals they decided to move Zubair Wahid up from D to the Wing. He ended up being the catalyst to their offence as they came back and tied the game. It will be interesting to see if Emaan decides to permanently use the second overall pick as a forward for the unforeseen future.

- Emaan like many other teams are facing potential attendance issues. Realizing the importance of getting points they are arranging carpools for tonight’s games.

- Speaking of player’s playing out of position, Ihsan’s Faraz Alvi was spotted as his team’s first line center with Huzaifa Manjra. Also, there are rumblings that Ikhlas’ Aazar Zafar insists on playing defense (a move a way from his usual center position). Ali Murtaza (Sabr) got a chance to play forward for Sabr (after years of playing defense), this move is paying off as he currently tied for third overall in points.

- If Ridha loses a third straight game, rumblings have it that this team will be in a rebuild mode with trades being made to reset the line-up.

- Emaan was pleasantly surprised with waiver pickup Brain Beavais as he added good speed and valuable hockey sense to the lineup.  He started the game on their 3rd line but quickly was bumped up as it became clear that his skill was an asset on the wing for the top line.

- Taqwa’s Huzaifa Panchbhaya played Week One with a wooden stick and collected 2 goals. Not to be out-done, Shukr’s Sufyan Kazi did not even bring a stick to his game and scored a hat-trick.  This begs the question of how much better these two can be if they invested in proper equipment?

- Abdu Sharkawy has been a threat offensively the past few seasons but he is reportedly looking to add a more physical element to his game - which would explain him being tied for second in Penalty Minutes this season

- Rumour have it that one team will be without their regular starting goalie and will dress a league approved backup goalie for their Week Four game.

- The Sabr braintrust is reportedly referring to their third line as the "New Kids on the Block" hoping to empower them - time will tell if that line has the right stuff to help their team win.

- Ibrahim Khan (Ikhlas) thought he had a broken foot and was done for the season. Fortunately, it is only a bruise. He will try to play tonight. This is welcome news for his team as he adds speed to the lineup

Medina:

RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Yaqeen	2	1	0	1	3	6	3	3
2	Ihsan	1	0	0	1	1	3	3	0
3	Emaan	2	0	1	1	1	5	8	-3

  

Mecca:

RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Sabr	2	2	0	0	4	5	2	3
2	Haya	2	0	0	2	2	3	3	0
3	Ikhlas	2	0	1	1	1	4	5	-1

  

Jerusalem:

RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Taqwa	1	1	0	0	2	2	1	1
2	Shukr	2	1	1	0	2	4	4	0
3	Ridha	2	0	2	0	0	3	6	-3

Overall:

RANK		TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	D,B	Sabr	2	2	0	0	4	5	2	3
2	D,B	Yaqeen	2	1	0	1	3	6	3	3
3	D,W	Taqwa	1	1	0	0	2	2	1	1
4	W	Shukr	2	1	1	0	2	4	4	0
5	W	Haya	2	0	0	2	2	3	3	0
6	W	Ihsan	1	0	0	1	1	3	3	0
7		Ikhlas	2	0	1	1	1	4	5	-1
8		Emaan	2	0	1	1	1	5	8	-3
9		Ridha	2	0	2	0	0	3	6	-3

D= Division Leader
B= Bye To Semi-Finals
W= Wildcard game (1 game elimination)

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:

- Live Draft

- Post-Draft Analysis
- Draft Behind the Scenes

- Listen in on our First League Podcast! Belal Hafeez of Shukr drops in with some health and fitness tips:

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

Fall Season - Week Two - September 21st

- We move to Week Two games after a one week hiatus, the season opened with Taqwa hanging on to defeat Ridha 2-1 to start the night, Haya making a late comeback to earn a 2-2 tie with Ikhlas, Yaqeen sealing their 5-2 win over Emaan with a pair of empty netters and Sabr dominating Shukr for a 2-0 win.

- Some housekeeping notes for those new to the league, gloves and a CSA Approved helmet are mandatory. We do strongly suggest players wear a visor or full cage as well. Please be ready to play as early as 10 minutes before the schedule start time of your game and when entering the arena remember to sign-in on the game sheet with your jersey number so the arena can accurately capture the game statistics. Please ensure to write your name and jersey number neatly or risk your points going to the wrong player.

- Changerooms will have locks provided, please ensure to return the lock and key to the front desk when your team is done.

Three Stars of The Week for Week One:
1st Star: Maaz Haq (Yaqeen) - 3 Goals and 1 Assist
2nd Star: Ali Khawja (Sabr) - Shutout
3rd Star: Arif Bijabhai (Yaqeen) - 3 Assists

Here are your Divisional Standings going into Week Two:

Mecca:

RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Sabr	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	2
2	Ikhlas	1	0	0	1	1	2	2	0
3	Haya	1	0	0	1	1	2	2	0

Medina:

RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Yaqeen	1	1	0	0	2	5	2	3
2	Ihsan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Emaan	1	0	1	0	0	2	5	-3

Jerusalem:

RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Taqwa	1	1	0	0	2	2	1	1
2	Ridha	1	0	1	0	0	1	2	-1
3	Shukr	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	-2

- For fans questioning the somber mood of Samad Hamidi during the Hamidi Report this past week, he is still shaken after watching his beloved Ottawa Senators implode with a series of questionable trades over the past year - culminating with their trade of Erik Karlsson for five cents on the dollar.

- Sabr came out flying in their opening game, the benefits of bringing back much of their Spring Season Championship team as they rolled over Shukr for a 2-0 win.  Shukr made a point to lock up Ahmed "Black Panther" Ibrahim however could not contain Abdu Sharkawy who netted the insurance goal for his team along with some physical play which earned him time in the box but set the tone for his team.

- Haya turned some heads in their Week One game, while a tie isn't something teams would take notice of - it does when a team is missing so many key players and still puts up a big effort and takes points from a game.  The reason so many of their stars were missing was due to the wedding of former I-Slam participant Jibraan Salam.

- Ihsan makes their debut this week after having a bye in Week One, the pressure will be on GM Huzaifa Manjra to show that his draft strategy of focusing on unknown players was the right one to build a winning team.

- If you somehow missed it, here are some of the Video clips the league has put up to start the season:

- Live Draft

- Post-Draft Analysis
- Draft Behind the Scenes

- Listen in on our First League Podcast! Belal Hafeez of Shukr drops in with some health and fitness tips:

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

Fall Season - Week One - September 7th

Welcome to the 2018 I-Slam Hockey Fall Season!  

- Some housekeeping notes for those new to the league, gloves and a CSA Approved helmet are mandatory.  We do strongly suggest players wear a visor or full cage as well. Please be ready to play as early as 10 minutes before the schedule start time of your game and when entering the arena remember to sign-in on the game sheet with your jersey number so the arena can accurately capture the game statistics.

- This season is the most competitive season we have had to date! With the increased level of competition along with nine teams all battling for the I-Slam Cup.  The nine teams were split up into three divisions - Mecca (teams that had the 1st, 4th and 7th picks), Medina (teams that had the 2nd, 5th and 8th picks) and Jerusalem (teams that had the 3rd, 6th and 9th picks). 

Mecca:
1. Haya (Grey): Salman Khalid and Waqar Khan

2. Ikhlas (Green): Haris Mallick and Mehmed Rizvanovic

3. Sabr (Yellow): Shaukat Khan and Mohammad Bilal

Medina:
1. Emaan (Orange): Yasser Habib and Mazhar Hussain

2. Ihsan (Teal): Huzaifa Manjra and Naeem Akhtar

3. Yaqeen (White): Fahad Mohammad and Maaz Haq

Jerusalem:

1. Ridha (Blue): Abdul Rahim Manjra and Mohamed Kazi

2. Shukr (Red): Arslan Mian and Humza Chaudhry

3. Taqwa (Black): Dawood Ciombar and Humza Ali

- The division alignment was decided before the draft so division each team ended up in was random and raised the always interesting specter of the "Group of Death" which many observers feel is the Haya/Ikhlas/Sabr grouping.

- In terms of the overall regular season schedule each team plays the other two teams in their division twice and one game against the other six teams (4+6=10).

-Playoff Format will be the division winner automatically making the playoffs with the top three seeds with the next three playoff spots to be determined by the overall standings with fourth, fifth and sixth place teams making it in.  The bottom three teams are eliminated to every game matters!

- To be eligible for the playoffs you need to play a minimum of three games in the regular season.

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

Have you seen the following recent additions to our Media Channel?
1. Draft: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkWQfsL7GVk
2. Post-Draft Analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zBkhEOZKV8&t=9s
3. Behind The Scenes (*Must See): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vKgguZFDac&t=25s

Some interesting tidbits from the Draft:
1. Emad Hussain became the first Auto Pick in the history of the draft as the Emaan GMs had to leave late in the draft and asked that the next highest player in the draft sheet be selected to their team, fortunately for them Hussain was that man and he was able to guide them the rest of the way while being a solid addition to their roster - so the general fear in fantasy sports about autodrafting a team may be the reverse in real life.
2. Prior to turning on Autodraft, Emaan selected new to the league Emran Singh saying his name would fit well into their Malton heavy roster

3. Sabr and Haya both seemed to be using their draft prep sheets from earlier seasons as each team selected many player from earlier championship teams.  Not a bad strategy to bring back winning pedigree but in a talent heavy draft like this one sometimes being less sentimental about picks is a better approach.

4. Ridha seemed to either be heavily confident in the skills of the Ingar family or confused about which one was the best to select as their first three picks were Yusuf Ingar, Yahya Ingar and then Farhan Ingar and fifth pick was Umair Ingar - one of them has to pan out.

- Best of luck to all players and teams and remember that this season games will be played at The Hanger!

Spring Season - Wrap Up

- And the season is over after an exciting finals that went down to a shoot-out to determine a champion!

- Mohammad Bilal scored a beauty of a goal in the shootout to give Ridha the Championship.  The team was on their heels for most of Game Two and found their star players in the box far too often which hurt their chances but with the pressure on they came up with the winner.

Your 2018 Spring Champions - Ridha

- Ali Khwaja was the clear Playoff MVP as he stood on his head throughout the playoffs to keep his team in games or just outright steal them.

- A great run by Emaan came up just short, their GMs were questioned about their strategy right after the draft but the team had good balance and their team was carried by their second line whose hustle always kept opponents on their toes and wore down defenders.

- Shaukat Khan picks up his first championship, a strong season from the star forward carried this team offensively at times and his efforts were rewarded with his first ring.

- An observer noted that Emaan may feel like they got the short end of the stick losing the Finals in a shootout but it took a shootout to get them here as they upset top seeded Shukr in the Semi-Finals in a shootout.

- The season of the "Black Panther" finally comes to a close, Ahmed Ibrahim embraced his alter ego to give a physical presence in front of the net and his ever improving awareness around the goal helped him set new personal bests offensively.

- Thanks to everyone for another successful season, InshAllah we look forward to seeing all of you back in the 2018 Fall Season!

Make sure to follow us and get your friends to follow us as well (this is another way you can help grow the league!):

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Twitter: iSlamHockey
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Youtube: IslamBallHockey

Spring Season - Week Fourteen - May 4th

- Last week saw Game One of the finals played where Ridha emerged with a win, all but stealing it in the final minute as Imran Lakhanpal played the hero as he snapped in a rebound with just 37 seconds left to give his team the win.  

Three Stars of the Week:
1st Star: Ali Khwaja - 25 saves
2nd Star: Imran Lakhanpal - 1 Goal, 1 Assist, Game Winning Goal

3rd Star: Mohammad Hamoud - 1 Goal

- Emaan had to come out of the game last week feeling like a championship was not written for them.  Ridha was missing Shaukat Khan and Emaan completely outplayed their opponent but were unable to get the winner past Ali Khwaja who stood on his head.

- Sometimes it is the little mistakes that come back to haunt you, Emaan took a too many men penalty with 1:12 left to play, Ridha went to the power play and Imran Lakhanpal stepped forward as the hero, snapping in a rebound to give his team the win.

- Both teams have to focus on Game Two now, Emaan comes in needing to win in order to force Overtime.  They have to be familiar with that scenario having escaped it themselves in the SemiFinals where they won Game One over Shukr only to lose Game Two and barely advance to the finals.  Now Emaan has to come out strong against Ridha to force Overtime where anything can happen.

- Ridha is hoping for a repeat of some magic from years ago when Imran Lakhanpal and Ali Khwaja were teammates on Haya and won the Championship together.  Together again and on the verge of a championship and in both that Haya and this Ridha teams both players were key contributors.

- You never know what rumours to believe but there are unconfirmed reports that Mohammad Hamoud and Hany Soliman may not play tonight for Emaan.  We could say we will know for sure when the ball is dropped but the Soliman's are not one for timeliness and may run into the arena late like the last man entering the ring during a WWE Royal Rumble.  

- Abdu Sharkawy was singing the praises of teammate Ahmad "Black Panther" Ibrahim after their Game One win.  Ibrahim deserves the praise as he has put in the work to improve his game and fitness - an inspiration for others to follow regardless of whether you are playing hockey or not.  Sharkawy may have gone too far in his praise, kissing Ibrahim on the cheek during their interview and then referring to themselves as the Arab Version of Twins.  Perhaps not thinking through that this comparison made him the much weaker of the two.

- Before the Championship game we have a Mecca vs Medina All-Star game planned!

-The Mecca conference comes in as favourites as some top-end players from Medina dropped out of the game and that was before all of the weather alerts for May 4th. Medina had to even borrow some players from the other conference to field a team!

- Anyone who isn't hyped up for the finals should check out the video produced by Arif Khan of Haya.  He was kind enough to put together something with the footage he took from Game One of the Finals!

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
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Youtube: IslamBallHockey