Transformation complete

By Matthew Ondesko, Associate Editor

It has been 20 years of frustration. Twenty years of disappointment. And twenty years of being the laughing stock of the league.

But, all that vanished when Amherst High School defeated Sweet Home, 3-2, to win the Small School Section VI Western New York Varsity Hockey Federation championship.

“It has been an exciting ride here,” stated second year Amherst coach Mark Mobus. “The kids have been working hard and they continue to work hard and it’s paying off.”

Some call this turnaround a miracle, while others say it is the hard work of Mobus and his staff.

Mobus came into a situation two years ago that wasn’t good. He was in charge of cleaning up some off ice issues, along with changing the image of a program that had fallen on hard time.

Amherst was the laughing stock for years and the kids at times seemed to embrace the fact that they were out to play goon hockey.

But, when Mobus came in, he changed the culture of the team and in two short years Amherst is now called a champion.

“I think when I first got the job my coaching staff and I stressed discipline,” stated Mobus. “We wanted to clean up the off ice issues the program had and then we focused on our goals on the ice. Last year our team was only able to win four games. I returned a lot of guys from last year and we set forth in the beginning of the year some high goals and we never though we could do this, but we did.”

Mobus and Amherst aren’t the only ones happy to see the program on the rise. After the game, former president Frank Panek and current president Mark DiFilippo were happy to see such a turnaround.

Panek relayed how happy he was to see Amherst win a title after so many years.

Others that are happy have to be the Amherst seniors like goaltender Sean Smith. Smith is one of a handful of kids that has seen the transformation of laughing stock in champions.

“My starting goaltender Sean Smith he is one of the seniors that has been with this team for all four years,” explained Mobus. “He deserves it. He has been through a lot in the previous years – a lot of losses. It’s very frustrating I am sure for a goalie to lose each and every night, but this one is all him and he deserves it.”

Once a push over in the league is now a champions, I would say the transformation in complete.