Amherst staves off Sweet Home for Small School title

by Charles Roberts, Metro Source

It sounds so obvious – that hard work, dedication and belief that you can do what others say you cannot inspire victory.

Sunday at HSBC Arena that was exactly the case, as the Amherst Tigers – a team that many thought wouldn’t be in a position to compete for the Western New York Varsity Hockey Federation Small School championship handed the Sweet Home Panthers a 3-2 loss.

“Hard work pays off, like coach always says,” said Amherst sophomore T.J. Kaszubski, the game’s most valuable player. “Work hard and you can achieve whatever you want.”

Amherst got on the board first at 4:28 in the first period when Alexander May picked up his own rebound on a backhand attempt, took it to the forehand and buried it.

They would score again at 8:32 in the second on another excellent individual effort, as Kaszubski won the draw, immediately fired a puck on net, followed his own rebound and backhanded it home.

“T.J is one of our go-to guys,” said Amherst head coach Mark Mobus. “He’s on the first power play line, T.J. is on the first line, the first penalty-kill; he does everything for us. He’s one of the smartest hockey players on the ice.”

Sweet Home would respond, making it 2-1 late in the second, as Matthew Beaudet kept up the game’s theme for individual effort by chasing his own rebound and scoring a short-handed goal. 

In a game that featured two schools ranked fifth and seventh, this should have been anyone’s game. Unfortunately for Sweet Home, they were heavily out-shot and struggled in the face-off circle, which would prove to be the difference, as they were simply unable to apply pressure in either zone.

“They may have been a little hungrier than we were today,” said Sweet Home head coach Dave Gerspach. “It’s hard coming down in a rink you’ve never played in. I had to tell them, ‘Hey, don’t worry about where your mom and dad are sitting, worry about getting ready for the game.’ You know, they’re all looking around, skating where the Sabres play.”

They would add a late goal on the power play, but quite frankly, it was too little, too late.

For Amherst, the win is their first ever Federation championship and they advance to the regional competition, which will take place Saturday, March 6 with a time and location to be determined.