Week Four Results
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Week 4 Report
By Eric Krol
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.
Box Scores
First Round Robin
Second Round Robin
Third Round Robin