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Game 1: Markham def Malton 5-3
Game 2: Malton def Markham 2-1
Game 3: Markham def Malton 1-0

The township of Markham have now officially made a name for themselves as they were crowned for the second year in a row Makkah Cup champions. They are now up there as possible one of the most prolific ball hockey communities in the GTA as their Salaam Cup showing and now MHL Makkah Cups prove that this group of athletes will compete and press until they get what they deserve. The Mavericks of Malton all season long looked like a true contender for the Cup and also a lock to win it. But with a 5-3 drubbing in game 1, that all came crashing down to earth as they looked like they weren't prepared for the onslaught this team was ready to unleash on them. Malton however bounced back with a very spirited affair in game 2 as they controlled most of the play in the game. Mohammed Bilal was a machine protecting the ball in the offensive zone and making plays happen. He was rewarded on the powerplay as he one-timed it past Safwan Umarwadia to go up 1-0. Markham tried to respond, but Malton was on a mission as they pounded the smaller forwards along the boards and kept both Aadil Kadva and Sayyad Abdul-Latif in check. With that, rookie of the year Divesh Sharma found the back of the net to go up 2-zip. What the Mavericks forgot about however was another rookie of the year candidate who belonged to Markham. Nabil, little brother of Sayyad, found himself at the right place and right time as a shot from his brother was stopped, but Nabil picked up the trash and scored shorthanded to cut the lead to 1. Just with that goal, the game seemed to change. Malton's bench looked a litle more lethargic and dejected and Markham pounced. They started controlling the play and make their opponents run in circles in their own zone. Nothing came about in game 2, so it was off to game 3.

You could tell Markham wanted to repeat so badly and the euporia of that win back in the Summer hadn't worn off as they were hungry right off the faceoff. Malton however, with their dominating attack at the start of the game and also throughout the regular season was non-existent as they relied on futile attempts to squeak one by Umarwadia by trying to catch him off-guard with shots from outside the blue-line. He was ready for every one of them. At the other end however, a collossal defensive breakdown as Markham went in on a 2-on-1. Sayyad once again found his brother Nabil open who made a move to beat Riaz Parekh who made a great save, but no Malton defender was in vicinity and Nabil dove to shovel in the rebound light the lamp and to cause pandemonium on the Markham bench and in Safwaan's crease area. The Markham Jrs went onto become repeat champions of the Makkah Cup. With Nabil's ability to get himself in to right situations, he was rewarded not just with one goal, but also a goal that was the biggest in his young career. With that, he was named the Conn Smyth trophy winner.

Game 2 Preview

Markham leads series 1-0

Malton again finds themselves down in a series and again will have to take the rough road to a championship and expect them to show up as they just don't drive from the westend for the scenery along the 401. Markham is a determined bunch and well coached and prepared as it is tough to catch them off guard. The Mavericks though were able to get Markham on their heels towards the end of game 1 with two quick goals but the Adil Kadva led bunch were able to hang on. For game 2 Malton will need a complete game performance from netminder Riaz Parekh as he was brilliant in the first but fell apart for a stretch in the second that pretty much did hid team in. The Mavs are loaded on talent as the young guns Divesh Sharma and Adil Patel have been carrying the team all season but now it might be time for veterans like Mohammed Bilal and Rizwan Hassan to step up their game and help the young ones. Markham should expect Malton to come out hard from the drop of the ball and if they can withstand that initial onslaught then they will have a good chance at repeating as Champs.

Markham def Malton 5-3 in Game 1

Markham leads series 1-0

Malton did not want a start like they had in the semis where the ML Predators suprised them with a game 1 win so Abdul-Khazi made sure they were prepared as they contolled the ball for almost 5 minutes to start the game but Safwaan Umerwadia would be ready between the pipes for Markham and he would make a spectacular save on a one timer by Mohammed Bilal that would result in a rush the other way that would see Markham's  Nabil Abdul-Lateef score giving Markham an early lead that would not last long as Mohammed Bilal would get a second one-timer opportunity and make no mistake as the game would be tied going into the 2nd.

This game would be a tale of 2 different teams for Malton as they would unravel in the second frame as Markham would reel of 3 consecutive goals from Vasim Kagzi, Zuhair Matador and Kadir Motiwala to go up 4-1 with 6 minutes to play. Markham would be in control until the last 2 minutes where Malton decided to press and would come up with goals from Nawaz Shaikh and Chanpreet Sandhu but fall just short as they came inches away from overtime but it would stay out giving Markham a 1 game series lead.

FINALS PREVIEW


Just as the Tpark Youngstars and Palace were neck and neck during the regular season, 2 teams in the Makkah division were pretty much doing the same thing. And now this series has now become a hot ticket as two of the fastest most explosive teams in the MHL set to do battle. Dubbed the Clash of Hwy 407, two teams on opposite ends of the city come together to show which will be the true leader of the Fall 2011 season in Tier 2. Markham's athleticism in Aadil Kadva, Sayyad Abdul Latif and Kadir Motiwala will face off against some of the most feared players in Adil Patel, Shoaib Khan and rookie sensation Divesh Sharma. Goaltending is an afterthought in this game as the offence and defence of each of these squads are second to none. Only 2 points separated each other in the standings but the on-ice results game in game out was pretty much equal. One notable fact about these two clubs is that they have now made it to the finals 2 times before and they have raised the Makkah Cup once. This will clearly be a series for bragging rights Abdul Hamid Kazi's orange crush will go up against Abbas Amarshi's black knights. Expect an end to end battle in a dizzying display of sheer endurance and determination as the young bucks on each of these teams will stop at nothing to go hard to the net and sacrifice for the championship.

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MALTON MUSLIM YOUTH CLUB

LEAFS OF MALTON



PENGUINS OF MALTON




MALTON MAVERICKS