Power Rankings - Spring Season - Week Seven

2017 SPRING SEASON POWER RANKINGS
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	UP/DOWN	COMMENTS
1	Emaan	5-1-2		Emaan exacted some revenge on Taqwa in Week Seven with a 3-1 win.  The win also keeps Emaan at the top of the standings just a point ahead of Sabr.  In their first game without injured captain Adeel Awan their defense looked shaky but Yusuf Kapoor was solid once again - the only goal he let up was going wide and deflected in by his own defenseman.
2	Sabr	5-2-1		Sabr started slow against Yaqeen but their league best offense cannot be contained and rallied for a 6-4 win.  The win keeps Sabr at pace with Emaan as the teams jockey for first overall.  Saleem Malik broke out with a 4-goal game while Luqman Arshad finished with 4-assists.  Their powerplay was 2/3 and looked unstoppable.
3	Ihsan	3-2-2		Ihsan got roughed up for a 5-1 loss against Haya but it's worth noting that the team was missing all four Soliman brothers for this game.  An observer likened it to the Power Rangers missing four members and than wondering why they kept losing to villains.  Ihsan has a big game against Sabr in Week Eight as they hope to make a run to a top two finish with first place still within reach.
4	Taqwa	4-2-0		Taqwa split their double header in Week Seven, dropping game one against Emaan 3-1 while playing without some key players (particularly Adil Patel).  Their reinforcements arrived for the second game against Haya which ended as a 4-1 win.  Three games left for Taqwa and a chance for a top two finish starts with a game against desperate Yaqeen in Week Eight.
5	Haya	1-4-2		Haya got their first taste of a double header and the result was a split.  A big 5-1 win over Ihsan was followed by a 4-1 loss to Taqwa.  The win is critical as it puts them three points clear of last place Yaqeen as the teams battle for the final playoff spot.  Week Eight is make or break for Haya as they have another double header on the menu.  First a game against Emaan followed by what essentially amounts to a playoff game against Yaqeen.
6	Yaqeen	0-6-1		Poor Yaqeen, they have encountered a tough run of it this season.  They have come up against hot goalies and great individual efforts from opponents all season.  Against Sabr it was Saleem Malik who broke their hearts with a 4-goal effort.  Yaqeen has to feel particularly burned after holding a 3-1 lead just six minutes into the game only to see it slip away.  Despite the struggles they have a double header in Week Eight that will determine their fate.  First a game against Taqwa followed by a match with Haya whom they are chasing for the final playoff spot.  The Haya game is a must win or their playoff hopes will end this night.

Power Rankings - Spring Season - Week Six

2017 SPRING SEASON POWER RANKINGS
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	UP/DOWN	COMMENTS
1	Emaan	4-1-2		Emaan defeated last place Yaqeen 4-2 in a game where their goalie had to bail them out as Yusuf Kapoor faced 21-shots in the half as his team was disorganized in front of him.  Part of that chaos was due to Emaan losing Captain Adeel Awan early in the game to an injury that takes him out for the season.
2	Sabr	4-2-1		Sabr was held in check for the almost the entire game against Haya until the final 30 seconds where they took advantage of a breakdown to get a 2-on-1 which they converted for the goal to steal a 1-0 win.
3	Ihsan	3-1-2		Ihsan had a big second half with four goals to get a 5-2 win over Taqwa and as a result leapfrog them to go into 3rd place.  Ihsan had a rough start but are now on a three game winning streak and undefeated in four games.  The defending champions took a while to get into form but are on a roll since.
4	Taqwa	3-2-0		Taqwa came into their game on back to back 2-0 wins but a terrible stretch against Ihsan saw a key game slip away.  The loss puts Taqwa in 4th place but a game in hand means they still have a chance at a top three finish.  A big double header is on the docket for Taqwa in Week Seven.
5	Haya	0-3-2		Haya played a great game against Sabr up until the end.  A late power play saw them put out their top line to try and get the win with four minutes left but they were not able to get the goal and then did not change meaning that when Sabr broke out of their zone in the final minute they were facing Haya defenders that were tired from a long shift.  The result was a goal with 21 seconds left and a terrible loss for Haya.  A win would have given them a bit of a cushion as they cling to the final playoff spot but now they remain just a point ahead of Yaqeen.
6	Yaqeen	0-5-1		Yaqeen gave a great effort against Emaan last week only to run up against Yusuf Kapoor who made some spectacular saves to deny Yaqeen a win they desperately needed.  Post game, Yaqeen lamented that despite peppering Kapoor with 30 shots (and 21 in the 2nd half) they were not able to defeat him.  An irony not lost on observers who noted that Yaqeen benefited from Kapoor's play last season in a run to the finals only to choose to go in a different direction this season.

Power Rankings - Spring Season - Week Five

2017 SPRING SEASON POWER RANKINGS
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	UP/DOWN	COMMENTS
1	Emaan	3-1-2		Emaan went into their game against Taqwa with a strong command on first and unbeaten in five.  They had a lot of offensive pressure but inability to finish cost them.  Emaan is still in first place despite the loss but will be tested against a desperate Yaqeen this week.
2	Sabr	3-2-1		Sabr picked up their second win in a row with a dominant effort against Yaqeen.  Their last two games have been victories by a combined 10-1 score.  Their offense is hot and boasting three of the top four scorers in the league while Ahmad Mobin has been solid in net.
3	Taqwa	3-1-0		Taqwa picked up their second 2-0 win in a row and this one was particularly impressive considering they didn't even have two full lines against first place Emaan.  Adil Patel was a force and Yasir Hussain was unbeatable in net.
4	Ihsan	2-1-2		Ihsan won their second game in a row and are unbeaten in three.  Osama Soliman is showing why he was the playoff MVP last season after leading Ihsan to another win.  They get a big test against Taqwa who is ahead of them in the standings.
5	Haya	0-2-2		Haya dropped a 3-1 decision against Ihsan yet remain clinging to the final playoff spot.  They face a tough battle against red-hot Sabr so if there was ever a time to show what they have got, this is it.
6	Yaqeen	0-4-1		Yaqeen suffered their third shutout loss in a row which is baffling to see.  Their talented forwards are just not able to generate sustained offensive pressure.  Their defense needs help and the Yaqeen brain-trust may be on the lookout to pick up some help on the backline.

Power Rankings - Spring Season - Week Four

2017 SPRING SEASON POWER RANKINGS
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	UP/DOWN	COMMENTS
1	Emaan	3-0-2		Emaan went into their game against Haya missing a few key players but a strong start carried them through to a 2-1 win.  The team played well but penalties and consistency seem to have limited their ability to break games open for a more comfortable win.  That said they are undefeated over their first five games and are first place in the standings.
2	Sabr	2-2-1		Sabr certainly showed that the flat effort from their Week Three double header was not what we should expect from this team as they steamrolled Taqwa for a 6-1 win.  David Ciombor and Ali Malik are a solid one-two punch providing offense for Sabr who have the best offense in the league.
3	Taqwa	2-1-0		Taqwa came out flat in their first game last week in a 6-1 rout at the hands of Sabr only to play the mirror opposite in their second game with a 2-0 win over Yaqeen.  Adil Patel is carrying this team but needs some help for Taqwa to continue to win games.
4	Ihsan	1-1-2		Ihsan got a big boost with the return of Osama Soliman and the result was a comfortable win over Yaqeen.  He fit right into the top line and contributed with a goal and an assist and it seems that attendance issues more than anything that is keeping the defending champions from showing last seasons form.
5	Haya	0-1-2		Haya dropped a 2-1 game against Emaan last week, players showing up late certainly didn't help their cause as the score was 2-0 before a timeout was needed to get everyone on the same page.  The team has talent but goal scoring has been an issue and needs to turn around for them to be able to control games better.
6	Yaqeen	0-3-1		Yaqeen has not been able to get their offense untracked this season with just three goals in four games.  Last week was their doubleheader and it was a horror show with two 2-0 losses.  The team has the pieces to compete but defensively seem to be thin on the back and may need to make a trade for a physical defenseman to shore things up as opposing forwards are being allowed to float through their zone.

Power Rankings - Spring Season - Week Three

2017 SPRING SEASON POWER RANKINGS
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	UP/DOWN	COMMENTS
1	Emaan	2-0-2		Emaan played two games last week and came out with a win and a tie, vaulting themselves into first place.  They have the leagues best offense (goals scored) and have played well defensively particularly with Yusuf Kapoor bailing them out of breakdowns in their own zone.  They are in a strong position for a top finish if they can maintain consistency although they need to watch out for the penalties as they have been taking a few too many this season.
2	Taqwa	1-0-0		Taqwa has only played one game and it certainly didn't start off well as Sabr was all over them for most of it, but Taqwa demonstrated some veteran guile as they soaked up the pressure and turned it into a solid comeback win with three goals in the final two minutes.
3	Haya	0-0-2		Haya starts games off well - they just cannot finish them.  Two games where they held a lead and both ended as a tie - last week was painful surrendering a goal with just 3.5 seconds left.  They get a tough match-up with 1st Place Emaan but this team has good balance and strong goaltending so if they can figure out how to hold a lead they are in good shape.
4	Sabr	1-2-1		Last week was a brutal one for Sabr, two games played and both lost.  The doubleheader was not expected to be easy but Sabr seemed to burn out in their game one loss and were flat in game two.  Their first game had them dominating play and leading with two minutes left before the wheels fell off with Tawqa scoring three goals to take the game.  Right after that loss they faced Emaan who built a two goal lead before a late PP marker made it a 2-1 game but that's how it ended.  With four games played Sabr has only given up six goals which is a great defensive output, their offense however has been poor - take away their 6-0 win and Sabr is averaging a goal a game which needs to change.
5	Yaqeen	0-1-1		Yaqeen opened the season with a major defeat and struggled at times last week but a gritty effort saw them salvage a tie against Haya.  When their full team is present this team is a threat but their defense is still a bit thin so any key player missing and things may get ugly on the backend.  Their high flying forwards get a chance to break out against struggling Ihsan.
6	Ihsan	0-1-2		How the mighty have fallen, last season Ihsan dominated with a solid defensive approach and took the championship.  This season has not gone as well, they drop to the bottom of the Power Rankings in part because of their poor performance and in part because we all want to give Yousuf Soliman the opportunity to sing "Started from the bottom."  Ihsan gets Yaqeen in Week Four and a win will give them a good boost in the standings.

Power Rankings - Spring Season - Week Two

2017 SPRING SEASON POWER RANKINGS
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	UP/DOWN	COMMENTS
1	Sabr	1-0-1		Sabr played well in the second half of their Week One game and that carried over to Week Two where they routed the defending champs Ihsan by a 6-0 score.  Yasir Malik did all the damage with a hat-trick.  Their defense and goal-tending looked solid and their forwards were in flight.  They get a test in Week Three with a double-header, the first game against Taqwa making their season debut and the second against Emaan in an early season battle for first place.
2	Emaan	1-0-1		Emaan started their game against Yaqeen strong and never looked back scoring in the first minute of the game and continuing to find the back of the net as they were leading 6-0 at one point.  Waqar Khan was the catalyst with five points and the top line combined for 10 points.  Emaan faces a double header in Week Three as they face rivals Ihsan who are coming off a blowout loss, sit for an hour and then play Sabr in a battle for first place.
3	Haya	0-0-1		Haya was off in Week Two so they drop to third in this list.  They return in Week Three against Yaqeen who will be looking to show more than what they did in their Week Two blowout loss.
4	Ihsan	0-1-1		Ihsan was missing players in Week One and bravely fought for a tie, Week Two they were again missing players and this time were routed by Sabr.  The defensive zone coverage that has become Ihsan's calling card was nowhere to be seen as Sabr was moving freely and getting open shots while breakdowns led to breakaways.  Ihsan gets a chance to bounce back with a game against rivals Emaan whom they have not lost to in the past three meetings.
5	Yaqeen	0-1-0		Saying that their season debut was poor is an understatement.  Down 5-0 at halftime the game was run clock for the second half which was for the best as Yaqeen had players arrive late and never really got anything positive going as Emaan was in flight from the start.
6	Taqwa	0-0-0		Taqwa did not play in Week One or Two

Power Rankings - Spring Season - Week One

2017 SPRING SEASON POWER RANKINGS
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	UP/DOWN	COMMENTS
1	Ihsan	0-0-1		The defending champs came into Week One missing their best defenseman in Farrukh Khan and last seasons Playoff MVP but put up a defensive wall against Emaan and showed that they are once again a top contender this season
2	Haya	0-0-1		Haya played a good game despite missing two key players and showed solid offensive play while their goaltending was strong.
3	Sabr	0-0-1		Sabr looked disorganized in the first half but dominated play in the second half which is a good sign for them this season, Ahmad Mobin was solid in net for his team in the first half while they were figuring things out
4	Emaan	0-0-1		Emaan didn't play poorly but their offense seemed to lack pace and creativity so more will be needed if they want to compete this season
5	Taqwa	0-0-0		Taqwa did not play in Week One
6	Yaqeen	0-0-0		Yaqeen did not play in Week One