Patrick Cote Triumphs at Quebec Open 2007
My Mission Accomplished With Top-Ten Finish

“So my next challenge is now plain: I must develop the inside dimension of offense, and change my defensive strategy from playing the puck to playing the percentages. If I can do both these things successfully, I will stand a good chance of cracking the top 10.”

-- The Comeback Trail, Episode #4, November 2006

Friday, May 18

As I traversed New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, en route to Sherbrooke Quebec, many thoughts traversed my mind. Martin Labelle had invited me to practice with him and Denis Begin, in final preparation for Sunday’s Quebec Open. I had eagerly looked forward to this, as our practice sessions together in April, in Toronto, had done us all good at Johnny Good Guy, where Martin and Denis had finished 1-2, while I had placed 6th.

But unexpected things can happen just as quickly in life as they do on a table hockey board. I had learned on Wednesday morning that Martin was in the hospital, fighting a bacterial infection that had inflamed his arm and given him a raging fever. At that time, his diagnosis was uncertain: It might be the flesh-eating bacterium (necrotizing fasciitis); in which case anything was possible – including some unthinkable things. But in any case, Martin was not going to play in the Quebec Open in 2007. (I am happy and relieved to say he is now back home, recuperating.)

Denis Begin had kindly invited me to practice with him in Drummondville, so after checking into my Sherbrooke hotel, and leaving messages with Martin and Lynne, I drove to Denis’s place on Friday night. We played four best-of-seven series. I got the drop on him and won the first series 4-1. Then Denis adjusted while I faded, and he took the next three series, 4-2, 4-0, 4-2. Even so, this was the best I had ever played against him, so things were looking up for me.

Saturday, May 19

I visited Martin in the hospital, and thankfully things were looking up for him as well. His fever had finally broken, and his arm – still red and swollen – was beginning to respond to treatment. The diagnosis was now conclusive: a Strep A bacterium, but not the flesh-eating variety. Martin was very sad to miss the Quebec Open, especially since he has been playing so well, but on the other hand (so to speak) he was recovering from a sudden and potentially devastating infection, and so he had to count his blessings. Good health is a gift, and must never be taken for granted. I signed a copy of Plato Not Prozac for Martin. We were joined by John Power, who had just driven up from New York en route to Quebec. It was the first time since the Montreal tournament that I had been in the same room with the two guys who got me back into competitive table hockey after a 24-year hiatus: Martin Labelle and John Power. What a fitting way to close put the season – except that Martin was in no condition to play. (He wanted to play anyway, and probably would have done well even with an ailing arm.)

John and I bade farewell and get well to Martin, and continued our journey to Quebec. We met up later that evening chez Burt Brassard, for some last-minute practice before Sunday’s event. Mark Sokolski was there, along with his young protégé, Justin and Andre Guay joined us as well. We had a spirited practice. I managed a tie against Burt, and defeated the others. I was as ready as possible for the tournament.

Sunday, May 20

Historic Quebec City

The Quebec Open 2007 drew 38 players, enough to populate three divisions for the opening round-robin. Most of the top players were there, with noteworthy exceptions of Carlo Bossio, Martin Labelle, and Greg Peden. (Angelo Fellano is at this writing still a great but also a Most Wanted table hockey player).Their absence made the tournament less competitive in one sense, but more competitive in another. The openings created by their absence motivated a lot of other talented players to capitalize on this opportunity to move up in the rankings. So a lot of hungry players became even hungrier, and the competition was accordingly fierce.

As usual, the opening round-robin would see the top three players from each division advance into the A-pool, with everyone else being relegated to B- C- and D-pool dogfights. I had been relegated to the B-pool in my previous Quebec appearances, in Montreal and Sherbrooke, and had fought my way back into the A-pool on both occasions, only to be eliminated in the round of 16, both times by Burt Brassard.

Avoiding relegation is the first big challenge, which carries an important reward: It’s a passport to playing someone with a lower ranking than you in the playoffs, at least in the first round. Also, it gives you a chance to play all the trop players before the playoffs, so you can scout everybody you will encounter of you win the first playoff round. And, unlike the opening round-robin, there’s no big penalty for losing games in the A-pool round.

Round 1

This time, in Quebec, I found myself in a division with Gino Bossio and Dave Kraehling – along with Michel Decarie and Dany Leclerc, among other talented players. From previous experience in Montreal, Sherbrooke and Brampton, I knew how decisive the opening round can be. It is of paramount importance to finish among the top three in one’s division, in order to make the coveted A-pool, and thus spare oneself the B-pool dogfight and uphill battle into the final sixteen. Having had three Canadian tournaments under my belt this season, I was no longer surprised at the number of strong players in every division, and was psychologically better-prepared for this initial challenge.

Even so, it was tougher than I thought. Every goal, and every game, is critical. Victories are vital; losses, lamentable, ties, terrible. Every point matters hugely. But that morning I was on a strange roller coaster ride, alternately winning big and losing small: 6-0, 1-2, 10-2, 1-4, 9-1, 0-3. I felt like a yoyo: up, down, up, down. I was scoring either too many goals, or not enough. When my record sank to 3-4-1, I thought I was sunk as well. I recalled Yogi Berra’s great line “It’s getting late early.” But you never know. As far as I could tell, everyone was losing games. I figured that if could win my last four games, I would finish 7-4-1, making the B-pool, and having a chance to fight my way back into A (for a change!) .

I did win the last four, starting with a 3-1 victory over David Kraehling. That lifted my spirits, because I had failed to score a single goal on him during our 10-minute pre-tournament warm-up. In my final game of the round-robin, the table hockey gods smiled on me. I was tied at 4-4 against Denis Maillé, but scored the winner with time running out. I didn’t know it then, but that one huge goal had lifted me into the A-Pool. Here’s how our round-robin finished:

Had I tied Denis Maillé, he would have finished third (with 16 points) and I would have finished fifth (with 14 points).

I was pretty ecstatic about making the top 3 in my division, let me tell you, especially with a 7-4-1 record. To me, the main reason is clear: defense. My offensive productivity was not in the same league as the other top players. My inside dimension of offense needs much more work, and I need to score 1 more goal per game (on average) to be competitive with them. But defensively, I was on a par with Bossio and Kraehling, as the numbers clearly show.

So here are my takeaways from that first round:
1. Defense!
2. Never lose hope; every game is important.
3. More defense!

Round 2

This was first experience in the A-pool, and one that I would love to repeat as often as possible. The A-pool is the only place where one can gain the invaluable experience of playing round-robin in a division in which every single player is strong. There is no table hockey league like this, because it represents a collection leading players from many leagues. While the B-pool is a dogfight to get back into the A-pool, the A-pool is more like a feeding frenzy among man-eating sharks, who are swimming around looking to take big bites out of each other.

The table hockey gods can be fickle, and they stopped smiling on me late in game #1. I was tied 3-3 with Daniel Bordeleau, who was very hot that day. I had the pressure on with seconds remaining, but he made a great kick-save, and the puck bounced off the boards and then rolled into the far corner of my net, just past the outstretched goalie. He won 4-3. Then I lost a 6-4 shoot-out to Dave Kraehling, who leveled our day’s tally at 1 game apiece. After that I had to play Gino Bossio, but managed a 2-2 tie. That was the highlight of my round – the first point I have ever taken off him in a tournament (and I hope not the last!). After that I went rapidly downhill, while my defense went deeply south. I felt like I was in a trance at the board, unable to move, watching pucks fly into my net from all angles. Following losses to Denis Begin, Junior Gelinas and Patrick Cote, I suddenly realized that there was more to my terrible play than merely terrible play. I had brought no lunch, not even any fresh fruit, and had eaten nothing since breakfast at 9:00 a.m. It was now around 4:00 p.m., and my blood sugar was very low. So I got a Coke from the bar (and my friends know I never drink that stuff) and quaffed it. Temporarily re-energized, I lost a one-goal game against Burt (3-4) but felt a lot better at the board. I had a solid 7-2 win over Andre Guay in my last game, thus staving off a winless debut in the A-pool. Nonetheless, it had been very instructive, and (like the previous round) was not without surprises.

Here are the results:

Despite my amazingly poor showing, my only complaint about this round is that it was over way too soon! I had a fabulous time playing so many great players one after another, and I wish it had been a double round-robin. (Well, maybe not.)

Patrick Cote proved that he was a force to be reckoned with in that round, while Denis and Daniel stayed hot. Dave, as usual, was in the thick of things, and so was Junior. The big surprise was Gino Bossio, who finished. 7th, proving (I imagine) that he did not care where he finished, confident he could beat anyone in the playoffs. Seeing him in seventh spot – great as he is – kind of took the sting out of being eighth.

As in the previous round, when players have the same number of points, the first tie-breaker is number of wins. If that is equal, the next tie-breaker is goal differential (goals for minus goals against). In this round, Andre had outscored me 29-24, but I had fewer goals against: 43-50. But in this case it didn’t really matter, since #8 plays #9, and that would be me and Andre no matter how you slice it.

So here are my takeaways from the A-Pool round-robin:
1. This is a feeding frenzy of big sharks.
2. Keep your blood sugar high, and your goals against low..
3. This is a feeding frenzy of big sharks.

The Playoffs

During the supper break, I realized that I was one playoff series away from a probable top-ten finish in a Quebec tournament, which has been my mission since Montreal, back in October. I had placed 12th in Montreal, after losing in the round of 16 to Burt Brassard – in the fifth game of a five-game series. I say “probable” because the new format is a double elimination, which means you have to lose two series before being eliminated from the tournament. The practical effect on the final standings is that you run a risk of losing some ground, in exchange for gaining an extra chance to climb higher.

So I faced Andre Guay in a best-of-three, and managed to win two straight: 8-3 and 5-2. I was now in eighth place, and had to face Daniel Bordeleau. He stayed hot, and defeated me in straight games. Then I had to play Gino Bossio. We were tied 4-4 in game 1, but Gino scored a late goal to avert overtime. He won the second game comfortably, and my day was done. I was now eliminated. But I had placed eighth overall, attaining my season-long goal of a top-10 finish in Quebec.

The double-elimination format, however, plays some new tricks with the standings: It allows players to “come back from the dead” and play again. Burt Brassard lost a playoff series, but he came back and made the most of his “second life,” finishing third overall. Alain Gamache, a great player who was relegated to the B-pool, fought his way back into A and won two playoff series before succumbing to double elimination. Alain’s strong playoff performance bumped me from 8th to 9th overall – but still left me in the top 10.

Patrick Cote played with incredible poise and consistency. He got on top and stayed on top in the playoffs, and thus earned the coveted double-bye into the final – against none other than Gino Bossio, who got stringer as the day wore on. Owing to the peculiar format of the double elimination series, the final is by definition unbalanced. That is, the #1 seed in the final only has to win 2 games to take the title, because his opponent has already been eliminated once en route to this final series. The #2 seed has to win 3 games to take the title, because the #1 seed has not yet lost a playoff series. Hence the final is actually a “best of 4”. This sounds strange, but it works.

Gino won the first two games against Patrick, but Patrick stormed back to take game 3. Thus game 4 became decisive: a win for Gino would give him the series, 3-1; a win for Patrick would give him the series, 2-2. Patrick prevailed, and deservedly took the Quebec Open title.

Patrick Cote (Stars jersey) chez Bossio.
to his left: Denis Begin (ref), Martin Labelle vs Carlo Bossio
to his right: Francois Cote (ref)

Here are the final standings:

Kudos to Mark Sokolski, a die-hard Henry champion from Toronto, for persevering on the Labelle-Coleco circuit this season, and cracking the top 16. He knows how tough it is!

Kudos to John Power, who won the raffle and took home a brand new Bossio-Labelle-Coleco board, which will be put to good use at the upcoming New York Open in September.

As well, it was great to see Alain Gagnon in Quebec! Alain is a scholar, a gentleman, and an erudite historian of hockey and table hockey alike. He told me he enjoys reading these episodes of The Comeback Trail, and I am really grateful for his appreciation. Alain, si tu voudrais les traduire en francais, pour les rendre plus accessible aux francophones, vas-y!

Finally, thanks to Burt Brassard and Denis Begin for organizing a great tournament. See you in 2008!