A big snowstorm left the Chicago area blanketed under a foot of
snow. Still, eight players braved the elements (out of a typical 12-14)
to play three round robins on Saturday, Jan. 22, at Garry Butler's
house in Lemont for Week 4 of the Lemont Table Hockey League. The story
of the night was the emergence of John Medema, a 50-something player
who made his debut at last summer's U.S. Open and has been coming back
ever since. Medema, making his transition to the Stiga game (he's got a
Super Chexx and Gretzky and other games in his hockey-themed basement
in Tinley Park), had taken his share of lumps, having fun in the
process. But on this night, he may have turned the corner, going above
.500 for the first time and becoming the only player to defeat Ron
Marsik, who went 20-1 on the night. Medema got a quirky bounce on
offense but his defense was the story in a 2-1 win. Medema didn't score
all that much on the evening, 50 goals in 21 games, but he gave up even
fewer --- 46. Despite the loss to Medema, Marsik steamrollered everyone
else, with Jim Rzonca finishing second on the evening. Medema was
third, edging out Eric Krol, who took fourth. The two squared off for
the third time in the evening, and Medema defeated Krol for the first
time on the night, and that was the difference in the standings. Lots
of guys bunched up in the middle, with Butler in fifth and Jeff Farwell
in sixth. Joe Salazar came back from a rough first round, but ended up
in seventh. We'll play again on Saturday, Feb. 5 at Jim Rzonca's house
once again, with the night serving as a tune up for Rzonca, Krol and
Salazar, who are headed for Philly and the Liberty Classic the
following weekend.
Three Stars of the night
1. John Medema...had a break-out night; only one to beat Marsik.
2. Ron Marsik...probably will be here every week.
3. Jim Rzonca...only had trouble with Marsik.
Standings
PLAYER W L T GF GA GP LTHL PTS
RON MARSIK 20 1 0 103 22 21 9
JIM RZONCA 16 4 1 97 55 21 8
JOHN MEDEMA 10 9 2 50 46 21 7
ERIC KROL 9 10 2 58 69 21 6
GARRY BUTLER 9 11 1 63 72 21 5
JEFF FARWELL 8 11 2 70 61 21 4
JOE SALAZAR 7 13 1 46 71 21 3
JERRY PYTLEWSKI 0 20 1 36 127 21 2
Note: each player gets one point for attendance and points based on what place they finish.
