Memorable Matches (2000 - 2006)

 

 

 

Arguably the greatest upset in the history of Muslim tournaments. Aside, the Chughtai Khannate upset over the Scarlet Knights that would happen a couple of years later, no other game comes even close. The young upstart Mameluks and their four veterans shocked everyone by out hustling, outplaying and getting under the skin of the vastly favoured but aging Wise Old Men.  Coming off a 6-0 round robin record, the Wise Old Men were unable to match the desire and tenacity of the young guys (in some cases 15 to 20 years younger than them).  The junior Hussain brothers provided the most memorable plays that left the old guys shaking their heads.  Aboodi Hussain sent Khurum Ullah flying with a body check and then knocked down a Sokat Shaikh slap shot with his bare hand, in a move that seemed more Matrix-like than anything else.  Ismail Hussain provided the game-winner and Arssal’s second tally sealed the victory for his team over older brother Faisal’s.

 

 

 

After going undefeated in the round-robin, Shujaat's team survived a second consecutive overtime and shootout thriller in the playoffs to advance to the finals of this tournament.  The semi-final game had the team up against a solid South Shore team led by Khurram S.  Overtime featured all 3 Aoude brothers on at the same time and it took exceptional defence and goaltending to prevent Khurram from scoring. Once again, Hassan Aoude was the impenetrable wall when it counted most without allowing a goal in the shootouts and, once again, youngest brother Hany scored the winner on his shootout attempt. And once again, Hamid Ali came up empty-handed in his attempt to win the championship. Shujaat's team would go on to face the Ottawa All-Stars in the finals and salvage Montreal's pride by a score of 3-2 in a tightly contested game. Unlike the previous two rounds, the match did not end up in extra time, but Ottawa came close many times, particularly in the dying minutes of the game; the stellar goaltending of Hassan Aoude was the difference.

 

 

 

After going undefeated in the round-robin, Shujaat's team survived an overtime and shootout thriller to advance to the semi-final of this tournament.  The quarterfinal victory denied Faisal Shahabuddin a chance to be part of a sixth consecutive championship team.  Brother Arssal was on Shujaat’s side and faced off one on one with Faisal in the OT.  He almost won the game in the last second of OT, but his shot hit the post.  Fortunately for his team, Hassan Aoude was the impenetrable wall when it counted most.  He was unbeatable in the shootouts, while youngest brother Hany Aoude scored the winner on his shootout attempt.

 

 

Why is a round robin game between the eventual champs and a team that finished at the bottom of the standings memorable? Well, the game began with most of the Swords having left the premises to grab a bite to eat.  That left captain Ilyas Rashid "borrowing" players from the Chughtai team, Rizwan Rajput and Zubair Wahid, who was playing as goaltender.  The game began 2 on 5.  By the time the rest of the Swords had shown up, about 5 minutes had expired in the 12 minute game.  Shockingly though, the score was 1-0 for the Swords as Ilyas played keep away the whole time and even scored on a slap shot from the centre line.  Once the rest of the team showed up to play; the Swords won the game easily. However, after the game, it was determined that Ilyas borrowing players from another team was against the rules, so the game was declared a forfeit victory for the Abbasis. Nevertheless, the win did little to placate their swollen egos.

 

 

 

The Telus team surprised the Wolverines in a tight quarterfinal game and almost took them to the limit.  Telus captain Ilyas Rashid was spectacular on D and forward Omar Yendrich Prosper, although he barely moved from his spot in the offensive zone, used his 6’5" size advantage to great effect and caused major problems for the Wolverine defense. Nadir Ahmed was the goaltender for the Wolverines and made some great saves before Shoaib Ullah pounded the winner by Dia El Ghobary before the game could get to the shootout.