Week Thirteen - December 12th

Taqwa vs. Sabr

Game One

8PM

And then there were two.

The teams fell off one by one. Sabr, first, with a huge group of players having incredibly down years. It was reminiscent of last year's Vancouver Canucks, where really good players like Daniel Sedin and Alex Burrows had just terrible seasons. Well, Yousuf Sowdagar, Yousuf Soliman and Akib Malik all combined for 1 goal all season.

Then came Emaan. They seemed to overcome bad seasons of their own for Arif Bijabhai, Furqan Salaam, and Waqar Khan who combined for 1 goal all year. But Umair Awan, newly-acquired Hassan Badreddine and Hisham Ali carried the offensive load for the group and were actually the better team on the floor week in and week out. In the end, it wasn't the slumps that hurt them, it was the lack of discipline. That and weaker special teams. They had trouble converting on the powerplay and ultimately, Taqwa's PP was just too strong for Emaan's PK.

So then, there were two.

The season series between the two teams were as split as can be at 1-1-2. Other than the last game, which had the feel of a pickup game, the game's between the two teams were tied or decided by a single goal. Clearly the matchups here are tight.

The Gameplan:

The forward lines for Taqwa will likely be:

LW - C - RW

Shaukat Khan - Osman Buttar - Muhammad Bilal

Safi Ahmad - Farooq Khan - Zaid Toorawa/Dani Umar

Healthy Scratch: Naveed Mohammad.

The defense will likely be a mixed affair as they try to match lines.

Ihsan will likely run these lines at forward:

LW - C - RW

Sajjid Ayubi - Omar Sabri - Usama Mahmood

Yusuf Ingar - Ali Wadee - Omar Husain

Qamar Mian (call up) - Junaid Mohammad - Ibrahim Hindy

Scratched: Rizwan Malik (ACL injury).

Similar to Taqwa, expect the defense to change constantly as they try to matchup against specific forwards.

The Matchup:

Obviously the top line for Ihsan will be the focus for Sami Choudhry and company. Ihsan will have a tougher time getting the matchups they want considering Taqwa is essentially running two lines, but Ihsan will have to trust that the deeper lineup will wear down on Taqwa. Still, expect extra attention to be given to Shaukat Khan, who scored last week's game winner.

Goaltending: Taqwa

While Ali Khwaja has had a strong season, his numbers have dipped the past couple of weeks - likely due to absences from Tariq Ayubi and Dilawar Alvi. Still, he has played well but Ibad Khan has a breadth of experience which makes it difficult to bet against him.

Defense: Tie

Ihsan's defenders are better at well, defending. But Taqwa's group have a high skill level and are capable of making great passes through the neutral zone - not to mention putting up points on the board.

I guess it depends what you value more but ultimately both defense groups have their own way of being effective.

Forward: Ihsan

Both teams have their snipers and scorers, and truthfully Taqwa's forwards were better at scoring this season than Ihsan's. But it's the depth on Ihsan's side that really tips the balance. Depth might not seem like a big deal when looking at a list of players that includes Shaukat Khan, Sajjid Ayubi, Omar Sabri, Safi Ahmed, Usama Mahmood, Osman Buttar, and company but with so many dangerous players on both sides, it's the small things that give you an edge.

Special Teams: Taqwa

The main reason Taqwa is in the finals is their PP. It's that significant. When I've had the opportunity to coach teams, I've always stressed that playoff games are often - usually - won and lost due to special teams. 5 on 5 hockey tends to even out between good teams so it comes down to special teams execution.