Lemont, Illinois (July 27, 2007)
Patrick Cote defeated Dave
Kraehling in a thrilling comeback, to capture the Chicago
Open Coleco title. Trailing Kraehling 0-2 in the best-of-five
final series, and sleep-deprived after a 26-hour bus ride
from Montreal, Cote dug deep and reeled off three wins in
a row, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Patrick
had pulled off the same stunt against Gino Bossio in the
Quebec City Open finals in May, coming from behind to win.
These phenomenal performances prove that Pat Cote is deservedly
nicknamed “the phenomenon” (“le phenomen”).
Patrick’s talented (and equally sleep-deprived) brother
Francois defeated Jim Rzonca to take 3rd place in Lemont.
I was seeded third in Chicago, behind Cote
and Kraehling. But the table hockey Fates had other plans.
I succumbed to stomach flu and could barely get out of bed
on tournament day. Weak and unwell, I tumbled into the B
pool. Between episodes of illness, I recovered sufficient
strength to defeat the father-son Thill combination en route
to winning the B division trophy. My highlight of the trip
was a reunion with Ron Marsik, whom I had not seen or played
since the 1970s. And just like old times, he handed me a
first-round loss.
Thanks to Jim Rzonca
and John Power for organizing this premier Coleco event
in the Windy City. Patrick Cote will be gunning for his
third title in a row in New York, in September. What did
I learn in Chicago? Well, my “B” game is in
pretty good shape! I will try to bring my “A”
game to New York.
Brooklyn, New York (September 8,
2007)
Martin Labelle has fully recovered
from an arm infection that kept him out of May’s Quebec
Open. Displaying the talent that won him the Johnny Good
Guy title in April, Labelle captured New York’s Empire
Cup, defeating Burt Brassard 3 games to 1 in the best-of
five final. Martin had gone undefeated at April’s
JGG in Toronto (20-0-0 on the day), but the field in New
York was much tougher. Labelle out-dueled a determined Dave
Kraehling in the semifinal, 2-3, 5-4, 3-2, winning the series
2 games to 1, with all three games going into overtime.
Burt also took a bite out of Martin in the final, winning
game one 9-2. But Brassard could not keep pace with Labelle’s
ferocious onslaught. Martin won the next three games and
the title: 8-2, 7-1, 7-2.
Burt Brassard, a dangerous and opportunistic
opponent, had defeated me in the other semi-final, wining
two straight overtime games, 2-1 and 3-2. But I managed
to bring my “A” game to New York. Greg Scoma
had me on the brink of defeat in the first playoff round:
Game 3 of our best-of-three series was tied 2-2, and Greg
scored a goal with no time left on the clock It was disallowed;
a good call by the ref (Martin Labelle), but a tough break
for Greg. I scored in the overtime. In round two I encountered
the phenomenon himself – Patrick Cote – and
managed to defeat him in three games (5-3, 0-6, 8-3). Getting
past Scoma and Cote took a lot out of me, and I didn’t
have enough left to handle Burt or Dave. But my fourth-place
finish was a step in the right direction.
Dave Kraehling won the "bronze medal"
series against me, also in three games. He was furious after
being eliminated by Martin, and I was on the ropes after
Scoma, Cote and Brassard. Kraehling put 13 past me in game
one. After the first 6 or 7 I said "Good. Score them
all now." Sure enough, I shut him out 2-0 in game 2.
He took game three 5-4. All good goals.
The American contingent placed four players
in the top ten: Kenny Dubois (6), Roger Owens (8), Greg
Scoma (10) and yours truly (4). This is a very decent result,
given that seven of Canada's top fourteen players competed.
The Canadian contingent dominated, but not totally. Table
hockey is alive and well in Noeth-Eastern USA.
Congratulations to John Power for organizing
another successful tournament, and thanks to Greg Scoma
for tracking and posting all the stats. I am also grateful
to Kenny Dubois, Denis Begin, Burt Brassard, and Martin
Labelle, for intensive pre-tournament practice sessions.
Playing these guys back-to-back-to-back is a privilege,
a challenge, and a great way to get sharp.
|
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| John
Power
President, NYCTHA |
Kenny
Dubois
champion & sparring partner
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Burt, Martin,
Lou, Denis chez moi
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All
Results Here
NYCTHA
Coverage Here
