And food containers with recent expiration dates were found inside, she said. There were no active utilities in the building, she said. “Either way, I’m lucky to be a part of this group of guys.Flames shoot from the old Pinball Pete's building in Ann Arbor Saturday night.
“I’m not saying we’re the most talented team in the country, but we might play the most games,” Lentz said. With all the league and tournament games per year, Lentz figures the teams play close to 120 games per year. The players have discussed traveling to Nashville or Las Vegas to play in bigger tournaments, which is something that might be in store in the future. Just like when you’re a kid, being on the road is exciting.” “Cities are fun - we like to party in and explore different cities. “Different competition,” said the 35-year-old Lentz. The guys love getting out of the Lansing area to shoot for some hardware.
Pinball Pete’s tries to play in one tournament a month every February through May, along with the Michigan Adult State Championship every March. Most of those were in Michigan, with a few in Indiana and Ohio as well. Since 2006, the club has captured around 30 titles. “The other league is 18-plus, so I’m chasing around guys half my age,” Laing joked.Īlong with playing in league competition on a weekly basis, the players on Pinball Pete’s enjoy competing in three to four USA Hockey tournaments each year. On Pinball Pete’s Gold team, which is a 21+ division, the players run from ages 21 to 55.Īt 37, Laing is one of the older players. It’s not uncommon for us to play against guys that we went to school with.” “A lot of the guys I’ve played with in the past through youth hockey, we’ve all gone our separate ways with juniors and college and what have you and all filter back and get into the mix. “Not only guys that are on my team currently, but also guys that we play against,” Laing said. A lot of the players know each other well. Lansing just has a lot of stuff going on.”Īnd because Lansing is a city of just over 100,000, it’s not too big to still have connections when the guys came up through the high school, juniors and college ranks. It’s a mix of the new stuff and the old college guys and this third mix of local hockey guys we have added over the years. “It’s like ‘The Matrix,’ it’s more than one level. Lentz’s sister is married to one of his teammates, and the guys love getting together for family functions. The guys’ wives and girlfriends have been very supportive and involved with the team. There are a lot of ties that bind the players together on Pinball Pete’s. It’s been a really great experience, really great time.” A lot of the guys have been there a lot longer than I have, but they’re very welcoming and I was a part of the team right out of the chute.
“We do a lot of things away from the rink together as well. “It really is a family atmosphere, I guess,” Laing said. Laing, who played college hockey at Division III Utica College, is happy he landed with an exceptional group of guys. He contacted Lentz and joined Pinball Pete’s. Assistant captains Jim Barrett, Mike Suggs and Jason Edick have been a major part of the club’s success over the years.Īfter semi-retiring from playing hockey, Laing wanted to get back on the ice four years ago. The owner “Ziff” and his friends make up the majority of the club’s 40+ Silver squad. Pinball Pete’s, which is a video arcade business in East Lansing and Ann Arbor, still has some of its original team members playing. “It helps us build some chemistry and we do cycle guys through the different teams occasionally,” said Jay Laing, who plays for Pinball Pete’s Gold team as well as the Elite squad. Without much turnover on the Pinball Pete’s Gold team, the guys have gotten to know each other very well over the years. “We have our veterans and occasionally we add a rookie, usually someone’s friend or brother,” Lentz said. Many other players have trickled in and out over the years, but the core has stayed intact for a decade. When Lentz started playing with Pinball Pete’s 11 years ago, he was joined by a handful of his teammates who played for the Lansing Community College Division III club hockey team. It’s been a gradual process to build the club. But Pinball Pete’s always finds a way to rebuild, it has been around for 25 years now. “Most beer league teams die, there’s nothing you can do about it. “They almost died, I’m not going to candy-coat it,” said Lentz, who is the captain of the club that plays in both mid-Michigan leagues at the Suburban Ice East Lansing and The Summit Sports and Ice Complex.
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