Week Seven - October 31st

Ihsan vs Sabr

9PM-10PM

After last week, there seems like a massive distance between Sabr and Ihsan in the standings but on second look, it's only 2 points.

Still, Sabr suffered a tough 2-0 loss to Taqwa last week and seems to have run through a mess of injury issues. First it was Hani Soliman, who scored in his first two games and appeared to be a great fit on the second line, to succumb to the injury bug with a broken ankle. 

Last week, Yousuf Sowdagar dislocated his shoulder (for the umpteenth time) but looks like he's out for a bit. Absences have played another part but Sabr has played largely with less than 3 lines and sometimes only 2. Playing without depth is a losing strategy in a league where each team plays an uptempo game.

The team has commenced the waiver process to replace Hani with Nayu Akbar. There's hope that Nayu with his strong slapshot, can fill the void left by Hani on the second line as Shuaib Hussein and Saleem Malik have been unable to fit on that line.

While Sabr fell 2-0 last week, Ihsan pulled out a 2-0 win against Emaan. For a team that has allowed the most shots against per game, it was encouraging to see that Ihsan had finally taken as many shots as they had allowed last game.

Another massively encouraging sign for Ihsan was that the second line finally found the back of the net. With Yusuf Ingar scoring twice, the combination of Ingar, Ali Wadee and Omar Husain will be critical for the team to find continual success and out-possessing their opponents.

Player To Watch: Kaz Akbar has a league leading GAA and has generally given his team a chance to win, game in and game out.

Who's Hot: Omar Sabri has 8 points on the second, topping both teams in scoring.

Taqwa vs Emaan

10PM - 11PM

With their backs against the walls and sitting at the bottom of the standings, Taqwa pulled out a gritty win against Sabr. It was the type of tight checking game they don't typically like to play as it limits their offensive weapons. But by sitting back and playing a more defensive style, Taqwa was able to score on the PP and eek out an important victory.

But the urgency that Taqwa felt last week will be felt completely by Emaan who now sit on the bottom of the standings and are in desperate need of points. It's unclear whether Waqar Khan will be back in the lineup. While he doesn't wear the C, it's clear that Khan plays a major leadership role on the team. And Khan will need to spur some production out of his teammates, as 1 goal in 6 games out of both Arif Bijabhai and Ahmed Hathout combined is not going to cut it.

While Emaan players have been upset that their games are never considered an I-Slam Hockey Rivalry Game. Well, that's because no one hates them (which is a good thing, right?). But the Taqwa - Emaan matchups are becoming something of a rivalry, as the games between the two teams are always highly contested. The last game was an intense, back and forth, and entertaining 4-4 tie.

Player To Watch: Shaukat Khan came through with a major goal on the PP last week which stood as the game winner. He has that clutch ability.

Who's Hot: Sami Choudhry is on overdrive lately, with a whopping 6 points in his last two games. He'll need to be watched closely.

Week Six - October 24th

Emaan vs. Ihsan

10PM

Emaan is fresh off a spirited game against Taqwa in which they battled back from 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 deficits and brought the game to a tie with 1:42 left in the game.

Umair Awan and Arif Bijabhai finally came alive and contributed some big goals, along with Hisham Ali who has been the most consistent producer for Emaan. And in more Emaan related news, Emaan has replaced Haseeb Syed (knee injury) with big center Hassan Badreddine who is expected to make his I-Slam Hockey debut this Friday.

While Tier-1 defensemen are relieved that they will no longer have to deal with Syed bearing down on them at full speed, Hassan represents the big center with a lethal shot that Emaan has been missing all season. This replacement might make them contenders as it gives them an element they were sorely missing.

Ihsan is coming off a bye week and playing the high flying Emaan is going to be a struggle. The first 5 minutes are going to be critical as Ihsan will have to find a way to weather the storm.

Player to Watch: Hassan Badreddine's debut will certainly draw attention. He likely has the best wrist/snap shot in Tier-1 and can be deadly if left unattended.

Who's Hot: Sajjid Ayubi has a league leading 5 goals this season and will need to be watched closely by his opposition.

Sabr vs. Taqwa

11PM

For a team that loaded up on a tremendous amount of talent, Taqwa likely didn't envision themselves at the bottom of the standings after 5 games. And here they face their bitter rivals Sabr, who hold a game in hand on them. Not to get ahead of myself, but if Sabr wins, Taqwa will be in a dogfight just to make the playoffs.  

Taqwa kept putting up the goals against Emaan last week but it never seemed enough. Taqwa might need to reach the realization that no matter who their goalie is, there is no substitute for good team defense.

Meanwhile, Sabr's last game was hardly a masterpiece. They were thoroughly outplayed and outpossessed by Emaan and yet pulled out the win on the back of Imran Patel who once again registered a huge goal. In my opinion, this has been Patel's most dominant performance in I-Slam Hockey - and that's saying a lot. His contributions can't be fully appreciated looking at the stats sheet, but he's been impactful in every game and Taqwa will certainly need to stay close to him.

Taqwa has also lost center Camran Baig to a wrist injury and have replaced him with youngster Dani Umar.

Player to Watch: I wouldn't say Ibad Khan has played badly, but he also hasn't stolen a game yet. I'm interested to see his performance in this critical match.

Who's Hot: Sami Choudhry is fresh off a 4 point performance and has 8 on the season already (tied for league lead).

Week Five - October 17th

Emaan vs. Taqwa

11PM

We've reached what I call the Tier-1 split, where two teams sit out with a bye week. It might seem inconsequential but it always skews the standings where teams end up ahead on points but with fewer games in hand. 

And so the intensity turns up a notch. Taqwa appeared to be walking away with a win last week, or at least a tie, only to see it dissipate with 40 seconds left after a point shot from Dilawar Alvi handed them a 4-3 loss.

Emaan completely outplayed, out-shot and out-chanced Sabr only to end up on a losing end of a 2-1 game. The inability to convert on chances and perhaps a weak goal surrendered by their goaltender was all the difference in the match

This game might be just what Emaan needs to get on track. Taqwa has a terrible time keeping up with Emaan's fast paced and crash and bang style of hockey. Taqwa's skilled players prefer to slow the game down and to create their high skill opportunities.

But Taqwa, who clearly have done the most to up the talent on their club, have swung a late Thursday night trade to move veteran Junaid Mohammad for Ihsan speedster Erfan Bhanapatel. Their talent pools keeps building but eventually Taqwa will need to show what's on paper on the floor.

Player to Watch: Hisham Ali has stood out on Emaan as one of the few guys converting on his offensive chances. He'll need to keep scoring until the other shooters on his squad decide to join him.

Who's Hot: Shaukat Khan has points in all his games and 6 altogether this season.

Week Four - October 10th

Ihsan vs. Taqwa

10PM

Both teams suffered their first loss of the season prior to the Eid break, after allowing a brief chance to take sole leadership of first place slip through their fingers.

But this will likely be a statement game for both teams. Both teams are also hoping for a full lineup for the first time this season. For Taqwa, they hope to have all of Osman Buttar, Camran Baig and the newly acquired Nomi Chaudhry all in the lineup at the same time. Meanwhile, Ihsan is hoping to finally see Usama Mahmood’s debut this season. Rumours were abound that Mahmood held a retirement celebration a couple of weeks ago but close friend and co-GM Sajjid Ayubi insisted that was not the case. “I’d kill him if he walked away from the game right now” Ayubi is reported to have said. Mahmood can certainly be a difference maker, so his presence would be a huge boost for the team.

Player to Watch: Yusuf Ingar was a solid contributor for Taqwa last season but he has yet to make his presence felt with Ihsan. He needs to make an impact, and soon, or his stock might start falling around the league.

Who’s Hot: Shaukat Khan and Sajjid Ayubi are tied at the top of the league with 5 points and have both been carrying the mail for their respective teams.

Emaan vs Sabr

11PM

I think we can call this Friday “even Steven”. Firstly, all the teams are tied in points in the standings. Secondly, all the teams playing this Friday have tied each other in their previous matchups. Emaan and Sabr played to a tie the last time they played and so did Ihsan and Taqwa.

So everything is as tied up as it could be.

Based on my expert scouting, I’d say the following were true from the previous Sabr-Emaan showdown:

1.   Sabr had a lot of trouble with Emaan’s speed through the neutral zone. Speed is what breaks the trap and Sabr’s system couldn’t withstand Emaan’s runners.
2. Emaan ran out of gas near the end of the game and Sabr took over.

Emaan also left a number of quality chances on the table, though this seems to be a theme in all of their games. They create many chances but have far too much trouble in the finishing department. If they start finishing, they’ll keep winning.

Player to Watch: Umair Awan has 2 goals already this season but could have had 5. He’s got the shot of a sniper and can really lift this team up.

Who’s Hot: Imran Patel’s goal last week was all kinds of nasty. Patel embarrassed the Ihsan defender and goaltender as he undressed them both and powered towards the net. You can’t ignore that kind of talent.

Week Three - September 26th

Emaan vs Taqwa

10PM

Emaan will face the monster they helped create due to the major trade the two teams consummated during the draft. By lending Taqwa the 2nd overall pick, Emaan allowed the Black Squad to grab Farooq Khan and Ibad Khan to their already star arsenal.

Last year, Emaan found a good deal of success against Taqwa. Taqwa, a team that loves to create high-level skill plays, can get extremely frustrated with Emaan's high-intensity and relentless fore-check game.

They'll need to hope it works again this year as Emaan tries to register their first win.

Player To Watch: Razi Ahmed is emerging as a top defender who is extremely dangerous on the rush. He scored a great short-handed goal last week...look for him to build on that.

Who's Hot: Shaukat Khan has 4 points in the first two game and only really played half of the last game. He turned the game on it's head the moment he arrived.

Sabr vs Ihsan

11PM

The defending champions certainly didn't expect this coming into this season: Searching for their first win of the season in Week 3. Enter Ihsan, a team that Sabr has shown thinly veiled enmity towards. 

After losing their last game of the season last year to Emaan, Sabr GM Yousuf Sowdagar noted his pleasure that the loss contributed to Ihsan's elimination from the playoffs. There's no love lost between these two teams and expect a battle up and down the floor.

One subtext for this game: Sabr felt extremely paranoid that Ihsan would draft goaltender Kaz Akbar and also felt that Akbar was far  superior player to Ali Khwaja, so much so that they passed on some high-skill forwards to draft Akbar 4th overall. Expect Khwaja to try to prove his naysayers wrong.

Player to Watch: Mustafa Alam is another player who feels slighted with the Sabr brass, after being traded from the squad last season. Expect him to bring a high level of energy to the match.

Who's Hot: Omar Sabri's 4 assists (all primary) in his first 2 games is tough to ignore.

Week Two - September 19th

Taqwa V Ihsan - 8PM

Last week's winners will come together for an early chance to claim sole spot of the top spot in the standings for the season. Surprisingly, despite the radical turnover on both teams, the teams ultimately remained loyal to the style of hockey they played last season.

Taqwa remains a high-octane offensive force with a large number of offensively threatening players with little interest in defense. However, with Ibad Khan in goal, that hardly seems a pressing issue any longer.

Ihsan remained a gritty defense-first team which prefers a grinding style of hockey. With a shortened bench last week, it looked like Ihsan ran out of gas at some point and spent the rest of the game stuck in their own zone. Still, the team bent and didn't break as they continued to grind and battle until the clock ran out.

Due to week one absenses, a few players will look to make their debut this week. This include, Usama Mahmood and Yusuf Ingar from Ihsan as well as Safi Ahmed and Muhammad Bilal from Taqwa.

Player To Watch: Omar Husain has some silky, smooth hands. While the youngster will likely take time to fully adapt to Tier-1 hockey, he showed flashes of brilliance in week one.

Emaan V Sabr - 10PM

Both teams came out of the losing end last week and will be highly motivated to shake off last Friday's disappointment.

Emaan's defeat came in a game which was far closer than the score indicated. We all hate hockey cliche's about "the bounces" but a ball literally bounced on the goal-line for Emaan was likely in the net but was quickly batted out before a referee could confirm a goal. Add that to hitting the post and running into a hot goaltender in general, Emaan certainly believes that the game could have turned their way if they had gotten the right bounces.

Sabr seemed stunned out of the gate against Taqwa but soon after began competing at a higher level. Unfortunately, that was only after surrendering some game deciding goals. Otherwise the team did seem out of sync on the power-play and in other situations. Players like Shuaib Hussain will need to find ways to ingrain himself with the team instead going their own way on the floor.

Player To Watch: Haseeb Syed is nothing short of a handful for his opponents with his unrelenting aggressiveness on the floor. He can single-handedly lift his team with a great play or sink them with a bad penalty. In either case, he's a game-changer.

Week One - September 12th

Sabr vs Taqwa

Re-match already. The two teams that endured an epic battle in the finals in which Sabr overcame 3-0 and 4-1 deficit's to win the championship in sudden death fashion.  None months later and things have changed. Farooq Khan, who registered a hat-trick in that fateful game for Sabr, is now property of Taqwa via the draft. Taqwa's aggressiveness on draft day also allowed them to land star goaltender Ibad Khan. These two moves represent massive upgrades for Taqwa, despite losing some offensive depth in Ali Wadee and Yusuf Ingar to Ihsan.  Sabr on the other hand has largely maintained their roster and is looking to repeat their success with a similar recipe of implementing hockey systems that give them neutral zone dominance and an advantage in possession.


Player to Watch: The player who drew the ire and wrath of Taqwa last season, Luqman Arshad, is now donning the Black jersey himself. Awkward. We aren't expecting him to throw up a bunch of goals, but he'll definitely be a player to watch!


Ihsan vs Emaan

There's some bad blood here as Emaan's brass believe that Ihsan's group coerced Omar Sabri to drop into the draft using some less than fair tactics. Emaan ferociously contested Ihsan at the draft and will do the same on the floor.These teams are counter opposite of each other. Emaan uses the depth on their bench and tries to wear down opponents with their relentless speed and hustle. Ihsan throws playing time at their star players, and this year they have more than a few stars to throw at the opponents. Omar Sabri, Sajjid Ayubi, Usama Mahmood and Tariq Ayubi are a formidable group. Throw in Dilawar Alvi, Omar Husain, and Ali Wadee and there’s some depth to back that up.

Player to Watch: We'll use two players for this one; Zayd Agjee and Ali Khwaja. The fates of both teams will likely lay with both goaltenders and this will be the first chance to see what they'll bring this season.