Three Stars of the Week for January 25th:
1st Star: Emmad Khawaja (Yaqeen): 2 Goals, 1 Assist
2nd Star: Maaz Haq (Haya): 2 Goals, 2 Assists
3rd Star: Huzaifah Panchbhaya (Ridha): 1 Goal, 1 Assist
- Week Five sees the cross-Divisional games continue as teams try to get an edge on a team they may face in the Finals while watching teams in their division hoping to get a hold on a playoff spot.
Here are the Divisional Standings after Week Four:
Mecca Division
| RANK | TEAM | GP | WINS | LOSSES | TIES | POINTS | GF | GA | GD |
| 1 | Haya | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | Ridha | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 4 |
| 3 | Ikhlas | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| 4 | Sabr | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -1 |
* 4th place in the Division does not make the playoffs
Medina Division
RANK
| TEAM |
GP
|
WINS
|
LOSSES
|
TIES
|
POINTS
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
| 1 | Yaqeen | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 12 | 2 |
| 2 | Shukr | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 11 | -2 |
| 3 | Ihsan | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 1 |
| 4 | Emaan | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 13 | -7 |
* 4th place in the Division does not make the playoffs
- Ikhlas tried to mix things up last week as they moved Rameez Siddiqi to play defence and his physical presence helped shake things up as the team pulled out a big win over Ihsan.
- Sabr responded to their loss against Shukr last week by making a trade, they moved Adeel Awan to Emaan in exchange for Idrees Deen. A surprising move since Awan is one of the leaders for Sabr and close friend to GM Waqar Khan but winless after four games means no one is safe - nor should they be really speaking.
- Sabr made the move for Idrees Deen in hope that he will ignite their secondary scoring otherwise GMs Gehad Alhundi, Waqar Khan and Yousuf Sowdagar will have to continue to shoulder the offensive burden for the team.
- An observer noted that it was the two winless teams trying to solve each other’s issue by making the above trade.
- Haya got a big game from young star Maaz Haq who put up a two goals and two assists in a tie against Yaqeen, Haq scoring the equalizer with just over three minutes left in the game. Haya has taken an unusual approach this season as they have been practising the fad of "Load Management" for their key players. Haq was rested for the first two games and in Week Four they sat Farrukh Khan and Ibrahim Butt. It will be interesting to see if the team continues with this approach to try and keep players fresh.
- With their first win of the season, Ikhlas jumped over Sabr to grab third place in the Mecca Division, Sabr will surely rue their first three games of the season which all ended in ties as a win in any of them would have them in the playoff picture right now.
- During the Yaqeen vs Haya game, Nadeem Hussain and Asim Gauhar of Yaqeen were overheard playfully trash-talking with Salman Mohiuddin of Haya when their team was up 3-0 and seemingly on their way to a blow-out win. Humble pie was served as the game ended in a 4-4 tie with Mohiuddin having a bit of a laugh at his friends expense for celebrating their teams win a bit too early.
- A day after being dealt to Emaan, Awan was on the move again as he was traded to Ihsan in exchange for Arif Khan. A whirlwind 24 hours for Awan who may have been looking to borrow the go-bag that Abdu Sharkawy used a couple of seasons ago where he was traded a pair of times right before the season started. Emaan gets a crafty veteran forward in Khan who they will hope can boost their league worst offence while Ihsan picks up Awan who can line up as a forward or defensemen and help cover gaps when their bench is short.
- One wonders if Waqar Khan is feeling the heat from his Cambridge crew after trading friend Adeel Awan. We will not have to wait long to find out as in a poetic twist, Awan will face his old team this week as Ihsan faces a struggling Sabr.
- Emaan has struggled this season, no wins in four games proves that, and while their GMs did make a deal hoping to spark the team they are also hoping for some good news on the injury front. Early in the second half against Ridha, Sulmaan Azmat rolled his ankle and was forced to sit the rest of the game. His versatility in being able to play multiple positions has helped Emaan try to balance their lines for each game and his positive locker room presence cannot be understated so they'll be hoping he's available for tonights game as they try to get their season on track.
- Ridha will start their Week Five game against Yaqeen shorthanded as they (again) did not send their recap in on time.
- With multiple players missing, Ridha was forced to put both Huzaifah Panchbhaya and Sufyan Kazi back on defence, the result was a surprise as the team got a shutout - although that was more due to the stellar play of their goalie Ali Khwaja and Emaan's poor offensive showing. Ridha needs to find some depth on D and were reportedly scouting Samad Hamidi of Sabr who they feel can give them some experience on the blue-line and may be available considering how open their team is to making a deal.
- Sabr has been burning up the trade-lines with moves all season as they have made three deals so far this season and their second in two weeks. Rumours are if they don't get their first win in Week Five they may either trade everyone or demand a redraft for the league.
- The league hasn't approached the "Crazy Season" which is the week of the trade deadline but deals are obviously heating up so while we expect some more to happen, league rules prevent something like this with a player being traded mid-game - something we assume the Sabr GMs have looked into already.
- Ikhlas tried to mix things up last week as they moved Rameez Siddiqi to play defence and his physical presence helped shake things up as the team pulled out a big win over Ihsan.
- Sabr made the move for Idrees Deen in hope that he will ignite their secondary scoring otherwise GMs Gehad Alhundi, Waqar Khan and Yousuf Sowdagar will have to continue to shoulder the offensive burden for the team.
- An observer noted that it was the two winless teams trying to solve each other’s issue by making the above trade.
- Haya got a big game from young star Maaz Haq who put up a two goals and two assists in a tie against Yaqeen, Haq scoring the equalizer with just over three minutes left in the game. Haya has taken an unusual approach this season as they have been practising the fad of "Load Management" for their key players. Haq was rested for the first two games and in Week Four they sat Farrukh Khan and Ibrahim Butt. It will be interesting to see if the team continues with this approach to try and keep players fresh.
- With their first win of the season, Ikhlas jumped over Sabr to grab third place in the Mecca Division, Sabr will surely rue their first three games of the season which all ended in ties as a win in any of them would have them in the playoff picture right now.
- During the Yaqeen vs Haya game, Nadeem Hussain and Asim Gauhar of Yaqeen were overheard playfully trash-talking with Salman Mohiuddin of Haya when their team was up 3-0 and seemingly on their way to a blow-out win. Humble pie was served as the game ended in a 4-4 tie with Mohiuddin having a bit of a laugh at his friends expense for celebrating their teams win a bit too early.
- A day after being dealt to Emaan, Awan was on the move again as he was traded to Ihsan in exchange for Arif Khan. A whirlwind 24 hours for Awan who may have been looking to borrow the go-bag that Abdu Sharkawy used a couple of seasons ago where he was traded a pair of times right before the season started. Emaan gets a crafty veteran forward in Khan who they will hope can boost their league worst offence while Ihsan picks up Awan who can line up as a forward or defensemen and help cover gaps when their bench is short.
- One wonders if Waqar Khan is feeling the heat from his Cambridge crew after trading friend Adeel Awan. We will not have to wait long to find out as in a poetic twist, Awan will face his old team this week as Ihsan faces a struggling Sabr.
- Emaan has struggled this season, no wins in four games proves that, and while their GMs did make a deal hoping to spark the team they are also hoping for some good news on the injury front. Early in the second half against Ridha, Sulmaan Azmat rolled his ankle and was forced to sit the rest of the game. His versatility in being able to play multiple positions has helped Emaan try to balance their lines for each game and his positive locker room presence cannot be understated so they'll be hoping he's available for tonights game as they try to get their season on track.
- Ridha will start their Week Five game against Yaqeen shorthanded as they (again) did not send their recap in on time.
- With multiple players missing, Ridha was forced to put both Huzaifah Panchbhaya and Sufyan Kazi back on defence, the result was a surprise as the team got a shutout - although that was more due to the stellar play of their goalie Ali Khwaja and Emaan's poor offensive showing. Ridha needs to find some depth on D and were reportedly scouting Samad Hamidi of Sabr who they feel can give them some experience on the blue-line and may be available considering how open their team is to making a deal.
- Sabr has been burning up the trade-lines with moves all season as they have made three deals so far this season and their second in two weeks. Rumours are if they don't get their first win in Week Five they may either trade everyone or demand a redraft for the league.
- The league hasn't approached the "Crazy Season" which is the week of the trade deadline but deals are obviously heating up so while we expect some more to happen, league rules prevent something like this with a player being traded mid-game - something we assume the Sabr GMs have looked into already.
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
