The Fall 2018 season of I-Slam consisted of 3 divisions, 9 teams, and one of the most competitive talent pools in recent memory. Through the 45 total games played, 2 teams distinguished themselves as rightful heirs of the top spots in the league; Yaqeen of the Medina division, and Haya of the Mecca division. Yaqeen had the most wins of all teams this season; Haya however boasted the only undefeated record. Haya had the fewest goals-against of all teams; Yaqeen however had the most goals-for. In their one and only meeting of the season, no winner could be decided in a 1-1 game. It is therefore only fitting that these 2 teams would find each other in the way of I-Slam history.
Haya GMs Salman Khalid and Waqar Khan are familiar with this position, both having won multiple I-Slam Championships. Yaqeen GMs Maaz Haq and Fahad Mohammad however, had been eliminated in the semi-finals of their only 2 prior seasons, and thus were new to this setting.
Game 1 started with Yaqeen on the powerplay due to an administrative penalty against Haya. Yaqeen had loaded up their powerplay, aware that the first goal is crucial. 20 seconds in, rookie Suleman Bhatti wristed a shot towards the net, which was tipped in front by Farooq Sani; 1-0 Yaqeen. This early lead served to calm Yaqeen’s nerves, and with an experienced core consisting of names such as Arssal Shahabuddin, Arif Bijabhai, and Faisal Mehboob, they continued attacking. This pressure eventually enabled Bhatti to locate and whack home a rebound past Yusuf Kapoor; Yaqeen 2-0. Less than 5 minutes later, Maaz Haq found himself on a breakaway off of a defensive-zone faceoff, and making a move to his forehand, scored to give Yaqeen a 3-0 lead heading into the half.
In the 2nd half, Haya finally found their feet. Led by the likes of Yasin Admani, Luqman Arshad, and their 2 GMs, they took control of the beginning of the half, determined to launch a comeback; and although a tough feat, their talent level is more than capable. Fahad Mohammad, winner of the previous 2 “Goalie of the Season Awards”, was more than up to the task, stopping all 12 of Haya’s shots in the half, on his way to a 19 save shutout. Suleman Bhatti would go on to score his second goal of the game (and fourth in 3 playoff games), effectively putting the game out of reach for Haya. Yaqeen takes game 1 of this 2-game series 4-0.
The score-line does not tell the whole story however, as shots were a close 21-19 in favour of Yaqeen, despite 4 additional powerplay minutes. Haya has Yaqeen that this Championship is theirs to win, and if Yaqeen doesn’t have Haya through their game #1 victory, and lets it get to their head, then we may be in for an Overtime and possibly a Shootout to decide the Fall 2018 I-Slam Champion.
