Memorable Matches (2012 - 2014)

1. Knights d. Stallions
Dec 2014, John Abbott College, Finals
Knights 4-3 with 17 seconds remaining in overtime

This was the third time ever that a finals game reached overtime. The Knights came in as defending champions and the 3-time champion Stallions were trying to win their first title since December 2012. Both teams had middling regular season results, with the Knights finishing 6th and the Stallions 8th. However, both teams knocked out strong competition in the quarter finals. The Knights took care of the fully loaded Greenbirds team from Toronto by a score of 3-0 and the the Stallions eked out a win over the top seed Vipers 3-2. Rajputs, Wahids and Lasanias seemed to make up the bulk of the two team's rosters. It was the battle of Saint Laurent (and those who left Saint Laurent for Laval). It was also a classic confrontation of the two team's veteran leaders; Sophian Mian and Zubair Wahid. After combining forces in the previous tournament, albeit unsuccessfully, they faced off for a record tying 6th time in a tournament final.

The game started a little tentatively but the excitement grew as the time ticked down. Superstar forwards Nazir Lasania and Ozair Wahid traded goals early and one more goal each left the teams knotted at 2 at the half. There was back and forth play in the second half with both goalies standing tall making big saves; none bigger than Yousuf Rashid's diving stop to rob Rumman Meah of a sure goal with his goalie stick.

Late in the second half with under 30 secs left, Ammar "Chotoo" Zaheer deflected in a point shot on the power play to give the Stallions the 3-2 lead. It looked like the lead would hold, until with under 15 seconds left, after a mad scramble in front of the Stallions net, the Knights (having pulled their goalie) got the ball back to the point for Sophian Mian to fire a one timer and tie the game up at 3.

In overtime the first 5 minutes were played 3 on 3, with the second 5 to be played 2 on 2, if necessary. There were some early chances but no goals. Late in the first session was when the controversy started. A long slap shot by the Stallions ended up trickling by Knights goalie Junaid Zafar, but a quick whistle from the referee led to it being called no goal. When play restarted, the Knights also had a goal called back on an incidental contact call with the goalie (post-tournament video review had both calls being rather dubious). There were now 18 seconds left in the first OT period and both teams lined up for a faceoff at centre ice. Boom, a clean faceoff win by Nazir back to Talha Awan for a one timer and suddenly the classic game was over. Just like that the Knights became back to back champions, joining a select few, and the Stallions were left devastated.

2. Vipers d. Swords
May 2014, John Abbott College, Tier I Semi-Finals
Vipers 3-2 in overtime

Prior to the tournament, the Swords team was believed to be one of the most stacked ever; some protested and even felt it was pointless to play in Tier I with the sheer pedigree of the team on paper. It was the first time Sophian Mian and Zubair Wahid had joined forces and anything short of a convincing championship win would have been a disappointment.

The Swords demolished the Brotherhood 5-0 in the 1st round of the playoffs only to meet the Vipers in the semis, who many believed to have overachieved by reaching this point. However, the Swords' only regular season loss had come to the Vipers, which had made them hungrier for a win when it counted most.

In a classic David vs Goliath setup, the Vipers executed their game strategy close to perfection in front of goaltender Aneel Anwar Nauth's exceptional netminding. They surprised by scoring twice early but couldn't withstand the highly skilled Swords' intense pressure and booming slapshots who eventually tied the game up. The Swords came close to winning it with Zubair Wahid's perfect top corner shot up close late in the game but miraculously rebuffed by Aneel.

The game went into overtime tied at 2, when Hamza Khan struck early but the goal was disallowed. Less than 2 minutes later, Hamza got redemption when Sherif Youssef made a pass across to him and he beat Sharaz Yunis cleanly in leading the Vipers to an improbable and shocking upset over the high-powered Swords.

3. Black Reapers d. Slap you in the Face(off)
Dec 2012, John Abbott College, Quarterfinals
Black Reapers 4-2

Slap You In The Face(Off) came in as the extremely heavy favourite going 6-0-0 and only allowing 5 goals. They did this without Faisal Shahabuddin for most of the day, as a family medical emergency caused him to miss 4 regular season games. Hany Aoude, Azum Chaudhry, along with Adil Patel and Team Pakistan goalie Ibad Khan from Toronto and the rest of the team were more than enough for them to dominate the regular season. Meanwhile the Black Reapers came into the playoffs with a 3-3-0 record. This "junior halaqa" team from the South Shore were still looking for their signature win after a number of tournaments. The team came in with a 12 man roster and they did not look intimidated playing Slap You In the Face(Off). They had just upset the mighty Ghurabaa 3-1 in the first round and gained a lot of confidence.

The large roster helped as this ended being a back to back game for them; but right from the start of the game, they outran their older opponents and blocked shot attempt after shot attempt. Whatever did get through was then stopped by Shoaib-Hasan Shaikh, who was a brick wall in the net. An early lead by the Reapers was erased and the game was tied 1-1. Slap You In the Face(Off) sent wave after wave at this point to try and take the lead but both Azum Chaudhry and Arssal Shahabuddin were stoned by Shoaib. Faisal, who had returned for the playoffs, blasted a slap shot that got by Shoaib, but not the post. Shortly thereafter, the Reapers capitalized on a couple of loose balls to take the lead. Shagul Khan and Khalid Syed fired wrist shots by Ibad to give the Reapers the advantage. A late goal closed the gap but an empty net goal sealed the deal on the game joining Chughtai Khannate d. Scarlet Knights (May 2008) and Mameluks d. Wise Old Men (Mar 2006) as one of the top upsets of all time.

In the semis the Reapers looked poised for another upset against the Wipers. Shoaib was playing out of his mind for the first 10 minutes, keeping the game at 0-0 with some unbelievable saves including one that absolutely stunned Sophian Mian on a feed from Shujaat Wasty but the Wipers eventually got one by him and the floodgates opened as they pulled away with a 4-0 victory.

4. Scorpions d. Black Reapers
Dec 2013, Cegep Vieux-Montreal, Semi-Finals
Scorpions 4-3 in sudden death shootout (10 rounds)

A year after their remarkable victory over The Black Reapers, the #7 pre-ranked team roared to a 4-2-0 record in the regular season buoyed by Shoab Ullah's offensive performance, who made a remarkable comeback from retirement to earn Tournament MVP honours and lead the tournament in scoring for a third time in his career.

After a first round bye, they faced the Scorpions who were pre-ranked as #1 but only made it as the 11th seed into the playoffs. After Inshan Allie's sure goal was disallowed by the referee (post-tournament video review showed that it should have counted), the game eventually headed to overtime tied at 3 but neither team could solve the goaltenders with Shoaib-Hasan Shaikh and Hassan Aoude making great saves at both ends. The hard-fought match ended in a shootout that lasted 10 rounds with no shooter scoring.

Coming down to the last shooter on their roster, Ayman Al Sayed, the Scorpions insisted on circumventing the rules in not allowing him to participate in the shootout. However their demands were rejected and they reluctantly had to send him as a shooter. Ayman's tactic of having practiced shootouts on Xbox prior to the tournament and actually taking the shot at a snail's pace worked. He emerged as the unlikely hero winning the game 4-3. The Scorpions would go on to win the championship 4-3 over the Knights.

5. Stallions d. Wipers
Dec 2012, John Abbott College, Finals
Stallions 3-2 buzzer beater

The tournament featured the top four seeds all being upset in the Quarterfinals, with the #5 Wipers and #6 Stallions eventually making it to the Finals. The Wipers, looking to repeat as champs, had plowed through the opposition scoring 13 goals in 3 rounds without giving up a goal, while the Stallions had a more challenging time, including eking through a 1-0 win over the ‘thorn in their side’ Ottawa Bureaucrats in the QF.

The Stallions came on strong in the first half and took advantage of a slow start by the Wipers to take the early lead by scoring twice. The Wipers regrouped and came out strong in the second half, with the duo of Hamza Khan and Shujaat Wasty combining to score two times and tie the game. Both teams played cautious hockey thereafter and the game was seemingly headed to overtime. However, with only 3 seconds remaining on the clock, the Stallions' Ammar ‘Chotoo’ Zaheer took a snap shot that deflected off of Sophian Mian's shin pads and into the net past Rahil Ahmed, allowing the Stallions to be crowned as champions.

6. Wipers d. Ottawa Beaurocats
May 2013, John Abbott College, Tier II Finals
Wipers 3-2 with 13 seconds left

The first tiered tournament’s Tier II finals featured two cross-town rivals whose rosters were made up mostly of Ottawa-Gatineau players. The higher ranked Wipers had shut out both the Black Reapers and the Da'is HC to make it to this point while the Ottawa Beaurocats had shocked many by upsetting the top two Tier II regular season teams Mad Junglees 3.0 and the highly touted Barons to reach the finals.

The Beaurocats, backed by goaltender Usaamah Gill's strong play, kept the game close against the favoured Wipers but were still down 2-1. As time ticked down, the Wipers played tight defense and seemed poised to win. However, with only 1:50 remaining, a defensive gaffe by the duo of Sheraz Kausar and Saad Uddin left Beaurocats’ captain Fahad Jawaid alone in front of goaltender Omair Hassan. Fahad made a quick deke and roofed the ball in scoring the tying goal, shocking the Wipers.

The match seemed headed to overtime with the score deadlocked at 2 and the momentum completely on the Beaurocats’ side, however, Wipers' forward Umair Sandhu took control in his own hands: in spite of an injured ankle, he won a faceoff, rushed past all opposing players and scored with only 13 seconds remaining in the game, with a celebratory salute to boot. A shocked and dismayed Beaurocats would not be able to mount a comeback with the little time that remained and the Wipers would go on to emerge victorious.

7. Ottawa Bureaucrats d. Stallions
May 2012, John Abbott College, Quarterfinals
Ottawa Bureaucrats 4-3

The match was just one of multiple playoff matchups between the Stallions and Ottawa Beaurocats/Bureaucrats in recent history. The defending champs Stallions came into the playoffs comfortably with a first round bye. By contrast, the Bureaucrats managed to advance only after a hard- fought 2-1 win in overtime over the Da'is. Zubair Wahid was a force throughout the tournament for the Stallions while Omair Hassan had been the same in nets for the Bureaucrats, and this storyline would continue in this game that had everything from incredible saves, goals and (un)predictable drama.

Yousuf Rashid stunned Fahad Jawaid early with a highlight-reel glove save in front of a wide open net, but Omair responded seconds later with an even more incredible save on an Ammar Wahid one-timer. As the match wore on, the Stallions expectantly emerged as the more dominant team, but a shot block by Adam Radmore led to an odd man rush with Wahid Siddiqi scoring shortside, top corner. The Stallions came back with more pressure led by Zubair and despite Omair's tremendous saves, the game was eventually tied. An altercation between Ammar and Fahad led to a powerplay for the Stallions, however Adam ended up with a shorthanded breakaway, missing the shot yet the ball still went in. The Bureaucrats then took a 2-goal lead when an errant pass made it to Fahad, who took a shot and got his own rebound from Asim Hussain to make it 3-1. The Stallions yet again came with full force and Zubair made it 3-2. As the minutes died down and the Bureaucrats barely hung on while Omair rebuffed the intense pressure by the Stallions, Muhammad Adatia scored on an empty net. But Zubair once again scored with 40 seconds remaining to close the gap and then, with 10 seconds to go, had the tying goal on his stick except his shot hit the post. Bureaucrats would hang on and upset the Stallions in a thriller, and would only lose to the eventual champions Wipers 1-0 in the semis in another close game.

8. cheqaDIaHbe d. Da'is United
May 2014, John Abbott College,
cheqaDIaHbe 3-1, Tier II Quarterfinals

It was a Tale of Two Teams that would make Charles Dickens proud. cheqaDIaHbe not only held the distinction of being the only Klingon team name in history as well as the ugliest, but their lack of offense was as bad managing only 6 goals in 6 games, yet somehow still finishing with an even 2-2-2 record to qualify for the playoffs as the last seed. On the flip side, Da'is United had a franchise record season having shut out 4 of the 6 teams they faced and scoring 19 times in 6 games to look like legitimate contenders in Tier II.

The matchup, however, ended the other way around, with Fahad Jawaid and Muhamad Adatia leading cheqaDIaHbe offensively and goaltender Nidal Diaz outdueling the Da'is' Usaamah Gill in shutting down their high-powered offense. The game ended shockingly in favour of cheqaDIaHbe, preventing the Da’is franchise and GM Zubair Patel from their most probable chance at a coveted championship.

9. Ottawa Red Blacks d. Black Reapers
May 2014, John Abbott College, Tier II Semi-finals
Ottawa Red Blacks 3-2 in overtime

The Tier II semi-finals featured a repeat of the Dec 2013 semis but with a different result. The Red Blacks had dominated the regular season and were coming fresh into the matchup with a playoff 1st round bye. The Black Reapers had less success during the season with an even record but had shut out the Khandaan in their first round match. Many believed that the winner of the match would be the leading contender for the championship.

The match went back-and-forth with each team exchanging goals twice. Regulation would not resolve anything with Shoaib-Hasan Shaikh and Nadeem Irfan standing strong for their respective teams. However, in overtime, Ali Sheikh scored on a 3-on-1 to lead the Red Blacks to a win. They would later go on to defeat the West Islanders 3-2 in the finals to win the Tier II championship.

10. Ottawa Red Blacks d. Phat & Furious
Dec 2013, Cegep Vieux-Montreal, Preliminary round
Ottawa Red Blacks 2-1 overtime

Pre-ranked to be a long shot for the playoffs, Phat & Furious shocked everyone by historically qualifying for the playoffs for their very first time ahead of many other higher ranked teams including the eventual champion Scorpions. They were led by Shagul Khan, who scored more goals (5) than the rest of the team combined and rookie goaltender Ahmed Talibi.

Alas for them though, their first matchup would be their last, as they went up against the defensive- minded Ottawa Red Blacks. It was a close match that pit the much younger P&F against the much older Red Blacks. Shagul scored P&F's lone goal but the game remained tied at the end of regulation. Asim Abbas emerged the hero for the Red Blacks with a seeing eye shot that eluded Ahmed and allowed the Red Blacks to advance, making P&F's playoff legacy short-lived.

Honourable mention:

Eagles d. Snipers
Dec 2013, Cegep Vieux-Montreal, regular season
Eagles 5-4 buzzer beater

The proverbial 'Battle of the Basement' featured the final game of the season for the only two winless teams in the tournament and both were determined to finish with points on the board. The Snipers were mostly rookies making their tournament debut while the Eagles were desperately short-manned with only 5 players for part of the regular season but fought hard, led by Zakaria Samadi, Muddaththir Jamal and Asim Hussain, who each had tremendous showings throughout but especially in this game.

The Snipers took the early lead scoring quickly and building up their score to 3-0. The Eagles were down but their spirit wasn’t. They finally scored their first, but the Snipers responded to regain the 3-goal lead. Overconfidence then crept in on the Snipers while a deadly resolve gripped the Eagles, who scored an unprecedented three times.

Tied at 4 apiece, the feeling was that each team would have to settle for 1 point in the standings. However, with a handful of seconds remaining on the clock, Zakaria powered his way in with the ball on his off wing and fired a perfect wrist shot past rookie goalie Ammaar Wadiawala to beat the buzzer and help the Eagles soar victoriously above the Snipers in the standings.