After a helluva first season, the Lemont Table Hockey saved the best
for last. The 14th and final week of the regular season saw a record-
setting 20 guys invade the Pytlewski Dome to play an amazing night of
Stiga table hockey. This night even outdrew the Big 54 Open, which
features a pair of Canadian players to mark Commissioner Jerry
Pytlewski's 54th year on the planet. With five games continuously
running, the pucks were flying. Literally, as it turned out. I think
we lost half of them. The last round-robin tournament of the year was
the last chance for players to jockey for playoff position, as they
had 19 games to play a piece. If the night could be summed up in one
theme, it would be this: The Rise of the Thills. The four players who
make up the Thill clan made incredible strides on this night, capping
off a great run after finding out about the league late in the
season. Jeff Farwell, a Thill cousin, roared to a 13-6 finish to take
fifth place. Jeff Thill finished right behind him in sixth at 13-6,
and the 6 points he collected on the evening moved him into the
playoffs. Adam Thill, who I believe is 16, went 12-7, and was one of
only two players to hand table hockey legend Ron Marsik a loss on the
evening. Rich Thill, the easygoing and friendly patriarch who was
featured in at least one magazine story on table hockey back in
the `70s, went a competitive 7-12.
On to the rest of the highlights. Jim Rzonca finished first in the
tournament, going an incredible 18-1, defeating Marsik (possibly for
the first time in three tries in tournament play) along the way to
claim 11 points on the evening. Rzonca's only loss came to the man
who beat him in the CTHL Coleco finals last spring, Mike Lisowski.
The veteran Lisowski had nine wins, but had to leave for work as the
long evening stretched on, so he forfeited the rest of his games.
Getting back to Rzonca: since finishing out of the top two at the Big
54 open in August, he cranked up his game to a very high level, going
39-2 the rest of the way, stressing defense at all times. Jim also
nabbed the first place and MVP trophies at the end of the evening.
Finishing second was Marsik at 17-2. Scott Pytlewski finished third
at 16-3. Scott ended up in second place for the year, and took home a
trophy. Jim Gove had his best night of the year, going 13-6 and
finishing fourth. The strong showing was enough to vault him into the
playoffs and improve his position in the seedings. Gove beat both
Jeffs (Farwell and Thill) head-to-head, so he won the tiebreaker.
That meant the Jeffs, who are cousins, had a playoff game to
determine fifth and sixth places. The two went back-and-forth for
five minutes, with neither man able to put one home. Regulation ended
0-0, and Farwell ended up winning 1-0 in OT to claim fifth. It looks
like Farwell will finish just out of the playoffs, with Jeff Thill
inching up to the 11th seed. Bill McDaniel Jr., who started out 8-2
at one point, finished 9-10 to take 10th place and get two points.
The extra point will prove crucial for McDaniel and likely get him
the eighth seed.
Seventh through ninth place would be decided by a round-robin mini-
tournament, as Garry Butler, Adam Thill and Eric Krol all finished at
12-7. Krol came through with a clutch goal to tie the score at 4 and
force OT. Young Adam took Krol to the limit before Krol put him away
with a goal to win 5-4. Butler, not to be outdone, scored a late goal
to beat Adam 2-1, putting Adam in ninth place out of the 20 players.
That left a final game for seventh place on the evening between
Butler and Krol. Not only would this game be for seventh and the five
points it would bring the winnner, but it also ended up being for
third place in the regular season. Krol and Butler were tied in total
points at 32 heading into the game, and the winner would get to 33
and third place. In addition, a trophy was on the line, as the top
three finishers for the regualr season would get nice trophies that
Commissioner Pytlewski dipped into his own pocket to pay for.
Generous man, that commish, who truly loves table hockey. Butler
started fast, going up 3-0 as everyone left gathered around to watch
this final game of the evening unfold at 2 a.m. It looked like the
rout was on, but Krol managed to play some tough defense and make a
stand. Slowly but surely, he narrowed the gap, eventually knotting
the score at 3 each. OT would be required to settle this one. So,
after nearly 1,000 games played this summer, the final one of the
regular season would be for third place and a trophy. The two players
went back-and-forth, with neither able to hit their signature
offensive plays. Krol decided to try something different, passing to
his right wing and going for a foot pass to his center. The pass
didn't quite make it, and Butler, ready to pounce, shot one home to
win 4-3 and take the trophy. An exciting end to the regular season.
Thanks to the Pytlewskis for all their hard work and hospitality,
hosting every week but one at their home. The playoffs start Sept.
28, with the quarterfinals on Oct. 5 and the final four on Oct. 12.
The week 14 results….players get a point for showing up, first place
gets 10 points down to 10th place, which gets 1.
PLAYER W L POINTS
1. Jim Rzonca 18 1 11
2. Ron Marsik 17 2 10
3. Scott Pytlewski 16 3 9
4. Jim Gove 13 6 8
5. Jeff Farwell 13 6 7
6. Jeff Thill 13 6 6
7. Garry Butler 12 7 5
8. Eric Krol 12 7 4
9. Adam Thill 12 7 3
10.Bill McDanielJr 9 10 2
11. Ryan Heraldo 9 10 1
12. Mike Lisowski 9 10 1
13. Joe Salazar 8 11 1
14. Rich Thill 7 12 1
15. Matt Soukup 6 13 1
16. Jason Walker 5 14 1
17. Bill McDaniel3 5 14 1
18. Luke Walker 4 15 1
19. Jerry Pytlewski 2 17 1
20. Bill Ackerman 0 19 1
Notes: Okay, here we are. The 14th and final Lemont Table Hockey
League round-robin tournament is in the books. For those who don't
know, each time out we played a round robin, sometimes double round-
robin tournament. This format allowed guys who couldn't make it every
week (this IS summer after all) to still have a chance at finishing
well without a bunch of forefits. We'd take the total number of
players, divide by two, and that's how many points the top finisher
would get. For example, if there were 12 players that week, the
winner would get 6, second place 5, etc. Players also got a point for
each week they showed up.
The regular season ended Saturday night, and it definitely had an
impact on the playoff seedings. Garry Butler and Eric Krol were in a
dogfight for third and fourth place, and Butler ended up winning the
final game of the night in OT to clinch third. But Krol still gets a
bye, as the top four players get a pass on the first round. Jim
Rzonca and Scott Pytlewski had long been locked into the number one
and two seeds, respectively. Commissioner Jerry Pytlewski slipped
from eighth seed to tenth, swapping places with Bill McDaniel Jr.,
who picked up a much needed point. The biggest jumper was Jim Gove,
who finished fourth on the evening to take home a total of eight
points, allowing him to jump into the ninth position. Relative
newcomer Jeff Thill finished sixth on the night and wound up as the
11th seed. The top 12 seeds for the playoffs are now set. Ryan
Heraldo would have been the 12th seed, but he could not commit to the
playoffs due to work. And 13th place finisher Bernie Kunzler is from
Canada, and his appearance, memorable though it was, was a one-time-
only thing. That opens the door for youngster Matt Soukup, who had
nine points on the year. He tied with Jeff Farwell, but Matt won on
the first tiebreaker, which is the number of weeks played. So Farwell
will be a stand-by player on the first night of the playoffs in case
someone else doesn't show.
Without further ado...the first round playoff matchups. They'll take
place Sept. 28, with the quarterfinals on Oct. 5 and the final four
on Oct. 12.
(5) Mike Lisowski vs. (12) Matt Soukup
(6) Ron Marsik vs. (11) Jeff Thill
(7) Joe Salazar vs. (10) Jerry Pytlewski
(8) Bill McDaniel Jr. vs. (9) Jim Gove
