Spring Season - Week One - Feb 17th

- Congratulations to Team Ihsan for being the inaugural winners of our new I-slam Cup (sponsored by http://www.urgentcarecentre.ca/)

- No rest of the weary, the Winter Season starts back up in a few hours! Here is an explanation of how the draft worked for this season:
i) Each team has a pair of GMs: 

Yaqeen - Arlsan Mian & Humza Chaudhry

Emaan - Furqan Salam & Adeel Awan
Sabr - Saleem Malik & Naiem Malik
Ihsan - Yousuf Soliman & Farrukh Khan
Haya - Naeem Akhtar & Fahad Mallik
Taqwa - Yasir Hussain & Sajid Bhayat

ii) Each team were allowed to lock in three players:
Yaqeen: Zafir Rashid, Idrees Deen & Junaid Mohammed
Emaan: Waqar Khan, Salman Khalid & Arif Bhijabhai
Sabr: Akib Malik, Luqman Arshad & Sadat Malik
Ihsan: Osama Soliman, Hany Soliman & Yusuf Sowdagar
Haya: Arssal Shahabuddin, Mehmed Rizvanovic & Khalid Mufti
Taqwa: Adil Patel, Yasser Habib and Abu Patel

iii) The remaining players entered the draft

Ramadan - in order to finish before the start of Ramadan, on some nights teams will be playing two games on one night.

Playoff Eligibility: - Top Five of Six teams qualify for the playoffs
- A player needs to play at least four games during the regular season to be eligible for the playoffs. 

* This rule was put in place to help motivate players to show up for their games and to avoid having teams play with a short bench

Playing Time:
- All the GMs have been notified to manage their teams to ensure each player gets relatively equal playing time. However please understand that in some situations may warrant in-game decisions (ex., late game scenarios, special teams, etc.)

Charities: This season each team will be representing a charity (of the GM’s choosing) where the I-Slam Champions will collect the proceeds for their respective organization. So playing hockey, getting good deeds and taking steps towards Jannah, can life get any better?

Haya & Sabr are both representing SickKids Hospital
Yaqeen has selected Islamic Relief
Taqwa, Ihsan and Emaan have yet to declare their charities.

IMPORTANT: For those that have not submitted their registration fee, you must pay before the start of your game or your team will be assessed a 5-minute penalty.

Week Sixteen - February 3rd

- Game One did not go as expected, especially for Yaqeen, as Ihsan strolled to an easy 6-1 win.  Both teams were missing some key players but it was Ihsan that roared out to a quick 5-0 lead and never looked back.

- Yaqeen has to be disappointed as their defense has carried them to the finals with some great performances only to be picked apart by a team that they believed they were matched well against.

- Ihsan came out of the game understandably pleased with their performance, highlighted by Yousuf Soliman referring to himself in third person on social media with statements like "do it for the six" and "six in the city" making light of the six goals his team put up and his nickname of Drake.

- Game Two will see Yaqeen in a must win game to force overtime, anything less than a win and Ihsan will lift the cup.

**IMPORTANT**: Register for the upcoming season AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Spots will be limited in order to ensure that the season finishes before the start of Ramadan. In previous seasons we have had the flexibility to accommodate players on the wait-list by adding another team. That is not a possibility for this Spring Season so register early to ensure you do not miss out.

Draft is happening February 10th, next week!!!

GM’s For Spring 2017:
1) Furqan Salam & Adeel Awan
2) Saajid Bhayat & Yasir Hussain
3) Naeem Akhtar & Fahad Mallik
4) Yousuf Soliman & Farrukh Khan
5) Saleem Malik & Naeim Malik
6) Arslan Mian & Humza Chaudhry

We have officially brought back a concept that we used in the early seasons of the league and helped bring out the best from our players - the dedication to helping the community through charity.

Each GM group will be submitting a charity organization that they will be playing for this season. I-Slam Hockey will donate money to the charity that wins the Spring 2017 Championship, the I-Slam Cup!   If you know of a Charity that the GMs should consider playing for, please let us know and we will pass the message along to the GMs!

What is new with I-Slam Hockey?
New I-Slam Championship Trophy sponsored by urgentcarecentre.ca
Potential All-Star/Super Series game after Ramadan for participating players of Spring 2017.
More complete Facebook Live streamed games
Player of the Game interviews
Active and engaging Social Media

Week Fifteen - January 27th

**IMPORTANT**: Register for the upcoming season AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.  Spots will be limited in order to ensure that the season finishes before the start of Ramadan.  In previous seasons we have had the flexibility to accommodate players on the wait-list by adding another team.  That is not a possibility for this Spring Season so register early to ensure you do not miss out.

Semi-Finals Three Stars:
1st Star: Hany Soliman (Ihsan)
2nd Star: Sajjid Ayubi (Yaqeen)
3rd Star: Ahmad Mobin (Emaan)

POLL RESULTS:
-Which team has the better Goaltender? Majority went with Yusuf Kapoor (Yaqeen)
-Which team has the better Defense? Majority selected Yaqeen
-Which team has the better Forwards? Even split between Yaqeen and Ihsan

-MVP: A few names were thrown out.
From Yaqeen: Saqib Khokhar, Yusuf Ahmed, Yusuf Kapoor, Sajjid Ayubi, Humza Chaudhry, Tayyab Kalair

From Ihsan: Zaid Majoo, Farrukh Khan, Yousuf Soliman, "Soliman" (I guess someone is just playing the percentages or cannot tell the difference between the four Soliman brothers on Ihsan!)

Interesting choices for MVP that reflect the talent and depth both teams possess.  Both squads have worked hard all season to make it to this point.


The league would like to announce the following disciplinary actions:
- Zaid Toorawa (Emaan) is suspended for three games for fighting and premeditated intent to incite fighting
-Sajjid Ayubi (Yaqeen) is suspended for one game for a dangerous hit and fighting
-Adeel Awan (Emaan) is suspended for one game for conduct unbecoming of an I-Slam player and verbal abuse of an on the floor OBHA official.

Week Fourteen - January 20th

**IMPORTANT**- The draft for the winter season is scheduled to start February 10th, 2017. Every year we have a wait-list of players and try to accommodate them. However, in order to finish before Ramadan we will be limiting the number of teams.

- Last week saw Haya grind out a 2-0 win over Shukr where the game was scoreless at the half and a goal by Kamran Siddiqui in the 2nd half gave Haya a lead with a goal from Huzaifa Manjra with 23 seconds left sealed the deal.  A solid season from Shukr but they came into this game missing Arif Bijabhai who is travelling overseas and was a huge loss for the offensive potential for the team.

- In the other Quarter-Final game, Emaan jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and were up 3-1 at the half.  The second half saw Emaan build up a 5-1 lead before Sabr grabbed a late goal to make it 5-2 which is how it ended.  Umair Awan lead the way with four goals while Waqar Khan picked up three assists.  Sabr had their chances but Ahmad Mobin who was presented with the Goalie of the Year award prior to the game showed why with some clutch saves early that allowed his team to build their lead.

The Regular Season awards sponsored by Urgent Care Centre were handed out last week. Here are your winners voted by your peers:

Regular Season MVP: Waqar Khan (Emaan)

Scoring Champion: Waqar Khan (Emaan)

Goals Leader: Humza Chauqhry (Yaqeen), Arif Bijabhai (Shukr) & Waqar Khan (Emaan)

Best Defensemen: Salman Khalid (Ikhlas)

Top Goaltender: Ahmad Mobin (Emaan)

Naseem Buttar GM Award: Naem Akhtar (Haya)

Top Rookie: Dawood Ciombar (Sabr) & Sahil Mohammad (Ikhlas)

Brotherhood Award: Samad Hamidi (Haya), Saqib Sheikh (Emaan) and Zaid Majoo (Ihsan)


Drive to the Playoffs, Round 1 Three Stars of the Week:
1st Star: Umair Awan (Emaan): 4 Goals
2nd Star: Khalid Mufti (Haya): Shutout
3rd Star: Kamran Siddiqui (Haya): Game Winning Goal

-Curse of the vote? Last week the polls suggested that Sabr and Shukr would be moving on however the opposite occurred where Emaan and Haya advanced to the semifinals. This week the polls have Yaqeen and Ihsan as the last two teams standing. Did the voters get it right this week?

Week Thirteen - January 13th

- And here we are, moving onto the second season where now the accomplishments and failures of the regular season do not matter as if you win now - you move on.

- The playoffs open at 8pm with Shukr facing off against Haya, Shukr won both meetings and come in confident with the talent they have available and the leadership of Coach K.  Haya started the season strong but then had the wheels come off with attendance issues more than anything as they lost their last five regular season games and are stumbling into the playoffs.  Haya does have Khalid Mufti in net so a great goalie always has the chance to steal a win.

- The 9pm game has Emaan meeting Sabr where the teams met twice in the regular season as Emaan won in the first meeting and the teams tied 4-4 last week to end the season.  Emaan boasted the best offense and second best defense in the regular season so you would expect them to be favoured but attendance issues and poor discipline have led to them being winless since December 9th.  Sabr comes in riding some momentum as they had to fight to make the playoffs down the stretch and played well last week.  This may be why the polls have Sabr favoured to complete the upset when the teams meet.

- Playoffs are where heroes are made so it will be interesting to see who will step up tonight with a big performance under the spotlight.  In the meantime, Ihsan and Yaqeen rest up and wait for the winners from the First Round to face-off against in the Semi-Finals.

- Shukr comes in confident with the leadership of Coach K who is familiar with many of the stars from Haya having worked with them before, particularly Aazar Zafar and Mehmed Rizvanovic who have played under the tutilage of Coach K.  Shukr also has Arif Bijabhai to lead the offense and who tied for the league lead in goals with eight - but there are rumours that he will not be available for tonight with cryptic comments about looking for the best fish pakoras in the world being his focus right now.

- Sabr got a strong game from Saleem Malik last week and will need more of the same from their leading scorer going into the playoffs.  The emergence of rookie Dawood Ciombar has been a pleasant surprise for Sabr as the crafty forward if a constant threat offensively.

- Haya has been plagued by attendance problems as the season has gone on, whether its Aazar Zafar showing up late or Huzaifa Manjra not showing up at all it has been a rough stretch for Haya.  That said they have a good core and a strong goalie that make them a contender in any match-up.

- Emaan comes into the playoffs on a bit of a slide, strong all season their big issue was discipline early with silly penalties but that has been replaced by weak team play as their passing seems to be off and their intensity stuck in casual.  Zaid Toorawa started the season strong but only has one point in his last three games and needs to get back on track.  Toorawa offered to hype up the fans by ripping off a Sabr t-shirt prior to the playoff game but his teammates declined this offer.

The Three Stars for Week Thirteen:
1ST STAR: Mehmed Rizvanovic (Haya)- 3 G
2ND STAR: Arslan Mian (Yaqeen)- 2 G & 1 A
3RD STAR: Saleem Malik (Sabr)- 2 G & 1 A

Congratulations to Waqar Khan (Emaan) on being the '16-'17 Fall Season scoring champion with 19 points in nine games.

Congratulations to Humza Chaudhry (Yaqeen), Waqar Khan (Emaan) and Arif Bijabhai (Shukr) on being the '16-'17 Fall season Goal Leaders as all three scored eight goals.

Here are the Finalist for the Regular Season Awards (alphabetical order):

Regular Season MVP:
1) Akib Malik (Sabr)
2) Arif Bijabhai (Shukr)
3) Waqar Khan (Emaan)

Best Defensemen:
1) Adeel Awan (Emaan)
2) Salman Khalid (Ikhlas)
3) Junaid Mohammad (Yaqeen)

Top Goaltender:
1) Yusuf Kapoor (Yaqeen)
2) Ahmad Mobin (Emaan)
3) Khalid Mufti (Haya)

Top Rookie:
1) Sahil Mohammad (Ikhlas)
2) Dawood Ciombar (Sabr)
3) Tayyab Kalair (Yaqeen)

GM Award:
1) Furqan Salam (Emaan)
2) Naeem Akhter (Haya)
3) Amir Multani (Ihsan)

Thank you to all players for making this season enjoyable, it was a pleasure serving the Muslim Community these past couple of months. 

Registration for next season is open. The winter season starts in less than a month and spots are filling up fast! Details below:

Registration ends once all spots are filled!
Please secure your spot immediately as spots are extremely limited (only 6 teams this season).
Cost: Register as an Individual Player: $150 (before January 15th, 2017) or $165 (after January 15th, 2017)
Location: Toronto Rock Practice Facility
(1132 Invicta Dr, Oakville, ON L6H 6G1)

Goaltenders are advised to email hockey@i-slam.ca prior to registering as spots are very limited.
Timings: Games are played on Fridays beginning at 8PM and ending at 11PM
Regular Season Start: Friday February 17th, 2017

Divisions: Only one Tier (Competitive and Recreational)
Registration Includes: League participation and a free ultra-lite hockey jersey for each player!
Want to run a team?: Email hockey@i-slam.ca and submit your duo GM group!

How To Register:
1. Send your registration fee payment via Email Money Transfer to hockey@i-slam.ca (Through your TD, RBC, BMO, CIBC, ING or other Online Banking website!)
2. Email hockey@i-slam.ca with your e-transfer password
3. Please fill out the registration form

Please note that spots will NOT be held through partial payment – registration is deemed complete upon payment of FULL funds AND completion of the registration form!

Week Twelve - January 6th

Here are your 2016-2017 I-slam Fall Season Award nominees:

Top Goaltender:
1. Ahmad Mobin (Emaan) 

2. Yusuf Kapoor (Yaqeen) 

3. Zaid Majoo (Ihsan)
4. Khalid Mufti (Haya) 

5. Kaunain Saiyed (Shukr)

Top Defense-Men:
1. Naiem Malik (Sabr) 

2. Salman Khalid (Ikhlas) 

3. Adeel Awan (Emaan) 

4. Humza Hussain (Ihsan) 

5. Saajid Bhayat (Shukr) 

6. Farhan Siddiqui (Haya)
*Yaqeen has yet to send in their nomination

Regular Season MVP:
1. Waqar Khan (Emaan) 

2. Arif Bhijabhai (Shukr) 

3. Akib Malik (Sabr) 

4. Kamran Siddiqui (Haya) 

5. Shehryar Khan (Ikhlas) 

6. Farrukh Khan (Ihsan)
*Yaqeen has yet to send in their nomination

Top GM:
1. Furqaan Salam (Emaan) 

2. Naeem Akhtar (Haya) 

3. Saleem Malik (Sabr) 

4. Salman Khalid (Ikhlas) 

5. Abdul Wahab (Shukr) 

6. Amir Multani (Ihsan)
*Yaqeen has yet to send in their nomination

Top Rookie:
If you are playing in your first season let us know so we can put you on the ballot!

Overall Scoring Champion:
Current leader: Waqar Khan (Emaan)
*Might Change after Week 13 results

Overall Goals Leader:Co-leaders: Waqar Khan (Emaan), Arif Bhijabhai (Shukr) , Humza Chaudhry (Yaqeen)
*Might Change after Week 13 results

2017 WINTER SEASON:
Registration Begins Today!
Registration ends once all spots are filled!
Please secure your spot immediately as spots are extremely limited (only 6 teams this season).
Cost: Register as an Individual Player: $150 (before January 15th, 2017) or $165 (after January 15th, 2017)
Location: Toronto Rock Practice Facility
(1132 Invicta Dr, Oakville, ON L6H 6G1)

Goaltenders are advised to email hockey@i-slam.ca prior to registering as spots are very limited.
Timings: Games are played on Fridays beginning at 8PM and ending at 11PM
Regular Season Start: Friday February 17th, 2017

Divisions: Only one Tier (Competitive and Recreational)
Registration Includes: League participation and a free ultra-lite hockey jersey for each player!
Want to run a team?: Email hockey@i-slam.ca and submit your duo GM group!

How To Register:
1. Send your registration fee payment via Email Money Transfer to hockey@i-slam.ca (Through your TD, RBC, BMO, CIBC, ING or other Online Banking website!)
2. Email hockey@i-slam.ca with your e-transfer password
3. Please fill out the registration form by clicking here.

Please note that spots will NOT be held through partial payment – registration is deemed complete upon payment of FULL funds AND completion of the registration form!

Week Eleven - December 16th

- Last week saw Ihsan blow three separate two-goal leads in their game with Shukr that ended in a 4-4 tie.  Emaan took advantage of a short-handed Ikhlas for a 2-0 win despite the effort from replacement goalie Sheraz Mahmood as Sheraz Bhai stepped in at the last moment for them.  Yaqeen defeated Haya 3-0 with both squads playing short benched.

- The Ikhlas-Sabr game has the Prime-Time spot tonight. It is fitting for what is at stake: 1) An Ikhlas win and they qualify for the playoffs, 2) A Sabr win and they qualify for the playoffs, or 3) a tie and Sabr must win their final game against Emaan to make the postseason.  Both teams control their own fate with a win tonight.

- It is expected that Zayd Agjee will be in net for Ikhlas. He was brought in for this very moment, to help get Ikhlas to the playoffs. So far, critics have questioned why bring him in as a replacement if he isn’t going to show up to majority of the games. Now the pressure is on Agjee, he either leaves this week as the ‘hero’ or a ‘bust’.

- In an ironic twist, Nadir Ahmed has been called up as a replacement goalie for Sabr.  The irony is that Ikhlas had Nadir Ahmed fill in for them for their earlier encounter with Sabr.  Nadir played well as the game ended in a 1-1 tie.  Some of the Sabr players described his performance that night  “Carey Pricesque”.  Now Sabr is hoping to turn the tables around on Ikhlas and hoping that Nadir can come through for them.  It should also be noted that Nadir Ahmed was also called up for Ihsan earlier this season as he help them get a 3-2 victory of Emaan.

- According to the poll administered in the week, majority feel Yasir Malik or Rizwan Malik will get the GWG.  Two unlikely candidates, but you never know what can happen in these types of games. The stage is set for anyone to become the hero.

- Ikhlas has been shutout in back to back games, first by Yaqeen and last week by Emaan.  If this streak stretches to three games they can pack up their hockey equipment for the rest of the season.

- A big reason why Ikhlas was shutout in their game against Emaan last week was the play of Ahmad Mobin. His 27 save shut-out performance is most shots faced by any goaltender this season, earning him First Star Honors.

-Speaking of shutouts, Yusuf Kapoor (Yaqeen) now leads the league with three. Yaqeen has not given up a goal in their last two matches.  In addition, Faraz Alvi’s two goals and an assist gave him the third star honours.

- It looks like the league’s decision to invest in goalie equipment is paying for itself.  You know who also was a goalie last week? Zia Ali of Ihsan!  When Zaid Majoo was late for his game, Ali strapped up to avoid his team playing with an empty net.  He held his own and helped Ihsan salvage at least a point against Shukr. Ihsan supporters on twitter has enshrined him with the nickname, “Neo”, with reference to Keanu Reeves’ character from the Matrix franchise. This appropriately encompasses Zia’s IT profession and MMA passion.

- Staying on that Ihsan-Shukr game: Hany Soliman’s 2 goals and 1 assist got him recognized as last week’s 2nd star. Also Arif Bijabhai’s 2 goal performance moved him into a tie for the goal-scoring lead. He now must hope that Waqar Khan (Emaan) and Humza Chaudhry (Yaqeen) do not find twine in their respective games as Shukr has wrapped up their season.

- The door has cracked open ever so slightly for Emaan to displace Ihsan from the summit of the standings.  Regardless of the outcome of Ihsan’s last game against Haya if Emaan can win their remaining games they will finish first overall.

- On this note, it is still plausible for Yaqeen to grab the top spot.  However first they must defeat Emaan tonight.

- Yo Haya players, time to wake up and start taking things more seriously.

- Shukr does not play again until the playoffs.  However, rumor has it that Arif Bihabhai will be away travelling at that time. If true this is a huge blow for Shukr but last Spring Season, Shukr was in the same position with goalie Yasir Hussain whom Coach K convinced to alter travel arrangements to a family wedding in Chicago to play in the Semi-Finals.