The Crescent Knights Hockey Club

Official Team Site

Game Report:

Stars 6, Crescent Knights 2

Game Played: Monday, July 4th, 2005 @ 9pm

The Crescent Knights fell to the defending champion Stars by a score of 6-2. The Stars shone in the first half of the game where they led 5-0 going into the half. The resilient Knights though outplayed the Stars in the second half of the game though the game was already out of reach by then.

Khalid Mufti was left out to dry yet again by the Crescent Knights. Mufti allowed all 6 goals and clearly looked fatigued with the constant pressure that the Stars applied. One of the goals scored by the Stars even bounced off of Mufti's back and into the net after it caromed off the glass behind the net. There wasn't much the defense could do about that unfortunately. The Knights, boasting a plethora of defensemen in the lineup moved assistant captain Nauman Abbasi to play as a forward due to the lack of forwards in the line-up. Abbasi later injured his left knee on a defensive assignment against an opposing Stars player and is day-to-day with a badly swollen knee.

Despite having the scoring prowess of Yousuf Sowdagar, the Crescent Knights looked confused offensively at times and managed both of their goals on the powerplay instead. Sowdagar had several glorious chances to score for the Crescent Knights but failed to capitalize after electing to pass to center Shuaib Hussein. Both played relatively well in terms of creating plays but were too unselfish to actually put the ball in the net when given the opportunity.

The Crescent Knights play the Mississauga Wildcats on Monday, July 11th, 2005 at 10pm. The Knights lost to the Wildcats 5-1 earlier in the season. The second meeting between the two teams is also the second last game of the regular season for both teams. The Crescent Knights desperately need a win to ensure a birth in the playoffs.

Scoring Summary (for Crescent Knights)

Penalty Summary (for Crescent Knights)

Missing Players (for Crescent Knights)

Game Report:

Eagles 5, Crescent Knights 4

Game Played: Monday, June 27th, 2005 @ 9pm

The Crescent Knights, coming off a victory against the Nordiques last week, suffered a tough loss against the Eagles by a score of 5-4. The Eagles opened the scoring but the two teams traded goals for most of the game. In the final minutes in the game, the Eagles put it away with two quick goals. The Crescent Knights, resilient as always, came back with another goal to close the gap to one but it was too little too late against the tough Eagles.

Khalid Mufti was solid in net for the Crescent Knights yet again. Mufti stopped the Eagles on several chances which would normally have been goals for the Eagles. The Knights were led offensively by their top line of Yousuf Sowdagar, Shuaib Hussein and Waseem Bangash as the trio was on the ice for all 4 goals that the team scored. In the few games that Sowdagar has played, the Knights have played much better offensively. The rest of the forwards seemed to struggle however both in the offensive and defensive zones though the top line also had its defensive lapses. The Eagles were able to walk around freely in the Knights' zone and were able to get several good scoring chances. Luckily, Mufti was there to deny them and keep the game close.

The Crescent Knights have to be pleased though with the addition of Sowdagar. Originally expected to play the whole season for the team, Sowdagar had to pull out due to scheduling conflicts with work. He was able to rejoin the team however once the timings of the games fell more in line with his work schedule. Playing in only his 4th game of the season, Sowdagar racked up 4 points and his presence has lit a fire under center Shuaib Hussein. Both have played spectacular with each other yet seem to struggle immensely when forced to play with other linemates. "He's a completely different player with Yousuf in the line-up," says assistant captain Nauman Abbasi who feels that Hussein seems to lack confidence in his wingers when one of them isn't Sowdagar. Hussein has 8 points in his last 3 games.

Farhan Siddiqui, who wasn't expected to play due to his impending marriage, was in the line-up for the Crescent Knights. The hulking defenseman is unsure if he'll be able to play in the next game since he has yet to receive official permission from his wife-to-be. The team doesn't expect Siddiqui to be in the line-up considering that he will likely be dead-tired from the weekend festivities. In addition to all the biryani he will be eating, Siddiqui will likely be fed many Indian sweets like chum-chums and bharfi which may hinder his ability to play hockey. The same could be said about younger brother Kamran Siddiqui who may be fed quite a bit of the same sweets. The status of both is questionable for next week despite anything the two may say.

The Crescent Knights play the defending champion Stars on Monday, July 4th, 2005 at 9pm. The Knights lost to the Stars 6-0 earlier in the season. Ironically, the Stars will be playing on the American Independence Day which should give the Crescent Knights added fervor to defeat the Stars.

Scoring Summary (for Crescent Knights)

Penalty Summary (for Crescent Knights)

Missing Players (for Crescent Knights)

Game Report:

Crescent Knights 3, Nordiques 2

Game Played: Wednesday, June 22nd, 2005 @ 9pm

The Crescent Knights rebounded from their loss against The Danza's to defeat the Nordiques by a score of 3-2. Led by their first line of Shuaib Hussein, Yousuf Sowdagar and Waseem Bangash, the Knights tallied 3 goals past the Nordiques goaltender and clung to the lead against a technically-sound-yet-talent-lacking Nordiques team. The victory was only the 4th victory of the season for the plucky Knights but was a well-earned one.

Kamran Alvi, the third-string goalie for Pakistan's recent entry for the World Ball Hockey Tournament, was phenomenal in net for the Crescent Knights and stopped a barrage of shots from the Nordiques. Some of these stops included point-blank shots from in close by the Nordiques' forwards which deeply frustrated the opposing team. Alvi, a pillar in net despite his small stature, helped prop up a shaky defense that missed its top two players - assistant captains Faraaz Alvi and Mustafa Alam. Both were unavailable to play but the defense and goalie managed to hold down the fort. Ihtisham Qureshi and Naeem Akhtar, two players regularly on the third line for the Crescent Knights, dropped back to defense to help out assistant captain Nauman Abbasi and defensive stalwarts Farhan Siddiqui and Kamran Siddiqui. It should be interesting to see how the team manages its defense from now on considering that Farhan Siddiqui may have played his last game of the season. The elder Siddiqui is due to get married next weekend and is looking forward to all the biryani that he can get aside from spending some time, in between operations and dissections of farm animals, with his new wife.

The Crescent Knights however did get their chances to score aside from the three goals they mustered. Munir Iqbal had a couple of glorious chances to score on a breakaway and rebound but was denied by the goaltender of the Nordiques. He later made up for his inability to score with some great defensive work in the closing minutes of the game. Iqbal blocked a few shots including one which hit him in the groin. He later acknowledged that it was a fair price to pay for missing the breakaway chances he had earlier in the game. Nauman Abbasi also had some solid chances to score on the powerplay but his anemic slapshot prevented that. Abbasi later complained that he needs to use another hockey stick though forward Waseem Bangash likened the assistant captain to Mahatma Gandhi and said that a lack of power was probably the reason for his inability to get good slapshots. Abbasi was apparently not pleased with the comparison but did agree that power may have been the issue.

The Crescent Knights look to build upon their tough victory with another one against the Eagles on Monday, June 27th, 2005 at 9pm. The Knights lost to the Eagles 4-0 earlier in the season and will be in for a tough game.

Scoring Summary (for Crescent Knights)

Penalty Summary (for Crescent Knights)

Missing Players (for Crescent Knights)

Team News

Goalie Alvi all

right after hit;

Siddiqui recovering

Kamran Alvi, playing on defense in last 2 games, leveled by tough hit from Stars forward. Alvi though is okay. Kamran Siddiqui injures knee on trip. Recovering slowly.

(posted Monday, July 4th, 2005)

Alvi heckles

Sauga Scream player

Faraaz Alvi watches Sauga Scream lose to Mississauga Wildcats. Alvi heckles Rayhan Malik of Sauga Scream. Malik stuggles due to heckling as Sauga Scream lose.

(posted Monday, July 4th, 2005)

Abbasi's hockey

sticks go missing

Nauman Abbasi's hockey sticks go missing after game against Eagles. Abbasi, 23, forced to purchase new sticks. New stick improves dismal slapshot.

(posted Monday, July 4th, 2005)

Locker-room left unlocked; theft occurs

Ihtisham Qureshi loses $50 after team's locker-room not locked during game against Nordiques. Each member of team decides to contribute $2 to help recover cost.

(posted Wednesday, June 22nd, 2005)

Hussein returns to team

Shakir Hussein, 22, returns to team after one-week hiatus due to personal reasons.

(posted Monday, June 20th, 2005)

Both Alvi's return

from Pittsburgh

Faraaz Alvi and Kamran Alvi return from World Ball Hockey Tournament. Faraaz Alvi played defense for Pakistan and had 0 points in 6 games. Kamran Alvi played goal for Pakistan and allowed 3 goals in 8 minutes of sparse play.

(posted Sunday, June 19th, 2005)

Leading Scorers
(Last Updated: July 4th, 2005)

Shuaib Hussein (C)
12GP: 5G, 9A, 14 points

Yousuf Sowdagar (LW)

5GP: 6G, 4A, 10 points

Faraaz Alvi (D)

10GP: 2G, 6A, 8 points

Waseem Bangash (RW)
11GP: 4G, 2A, 6 points

Abdul-Aziz Rasoul (LW)
11GP: 2G, 4A, 6 points

Nauman Abbasi (D)

9GP: 0G, 4A, 4 points

PLAYER InjuRIES
(Last Updated: June 27th, 2005)

Faheem Kotwal

Torn Right ACL

out for season

Nauman Abbasi

Swollen Left Knee

day-to-day

STANDINGS/RECORD

(Last Updated: June 27th, 2005)

Record: 4 - 8 - 0 [8 points]

Rank: 5th out of 8 teams

Streak: 2 Games Lost

Goals For: 26

(6th out of 8 teams)

Goals Allowed: 43

(6th out of 8 teams)

PREVIOUS RESULTS

(Last Updated: July 4th, 2005)

Stars 6, Knights 2

Eagles 5, Knights 4

Knights 3, Nordiques 2

The Danza's 4, Knights 2

Rangers 5, Knights 2

Knights 5, Scream 1

Wildcats, 5, Knights 1

Stars 6, Knights 0

Eagles 4, Knights 0

Knights 2, Nordiques 1

The Danza's 3, Knights 1

Knights 4, Rangers 1