Lathrop High's Stephon Williams expected to earn the start in goal for the final game of the high school hockey season. He also expected the Malemutes to win the game and finish the season on a high note.
Williams met his expectations by turning back 33 shots in the Malemutes' 4-2 win over Dimond in last week's Class 4A state championship game.
What the sophomore didn't expect, though, was hitting another high note.
The 6-foot-1, 165-pound goaltender was voted the 2008-09 Daily News/State Coaches player of the year for helping Lathrop capture its first state title since 1987 and snap nearly two straight decades of Anchorage teams taking home the First National Cup.
"That's probably as high as you can get," Williams said. "I definitely didn't expect this."
Williams became the first Fairbanks player to win the award, which since 1988 has been given to the best player in Alaska. Williams joined Palmer's Cotton Gore (1989) as the only non-Anchorage players to be voted player of the year.
Also receiving player-of-the-year votes from coaches around the state: forwards Scott Wamsganz of Dimond, Taylor Munson of Lathrop and Casey Bailey of West.
Williams, 15, swapped playing time with two other goalies this season. He totaled the most shutouts (five) during the regular season, but he didn't secure the No. 1 spot until the state championship game.
He started the first game of the state tournament, against South, and stopped 37 shots in a 3-1 victory over the four-time defending state champions. The win snapped South's 12-game winning streak in the tournament, the longest in state playoff history.
"That was my tryout for the title game," Williams said. "It was big -- like, if you could handle this, you could handle anything."
Even so, Lathrop coach Shawn Lundgren went with goalie Trevor Evans in a semifinal against Palmer. The junior played well, making 20 saves in Lathrop's 6-3 win over the Moose.
Next up was top-seed Dimond, a team that had scored five goals against Williams earlier in the season. It was time for Williams to get some payback.
"He wanted to be in that situation," said Lundgren, Lathrop's four-year bench boss who was voted coach of the year. "Playing in that position, confidence is everything."
As a freshman last season, Williams built self-esteem between the pipes while playing behind three goalies, two of whom had seniority. His playing time was limited, but he still managed a respectable 3-1 record and 1.08 goals against average.
This season he wanted more ice time and finished with one of the best seasons for a goalie in school history. His 11-2 overall record, 3-0 record in the postseason, 1.33 goals against average and .940 save percentage helped Lathrop make history with a program-best 25-2-0 record.
"He really improved his game this season," said Lathrop's Alec Hajdukovich.
Other than Williams, Anchorage players dominated the first-team all-state selections. Forwards named to the first team were Dimond juniors Wamsganz and Erik Cooper and West junior Bailey; defensemen were Dimond freshman Brian Cooper and Chugiak senior Ben Matthews.
The last goalie named as the Anchorage Daily News player of the year was Drew O'Connell of Service in 2004.
But until now, no Fairbanks player had ever won the award. Williams is happy to represent as the first.
"I guess it was my time to shine," he said.
Find Kevin Klott online at adn.com/contact/kklott or call 257-4335.
2008-09 Anchorage Daily News/State Coaches
Class 4A All-State Team
Player of the Year -- Stephon Williams, Lathrop. Coach of the Year -- Shawn Lundgren, Lathrop.
First Team
Forward -- Erik Cooper, Dimond; Scott Wamsganz, Dimond; Casey Bailey, West. Defense -- Brian Cooper, Dimond; Ben Matthews, Chugiak. Goaltender -- Stephon Williams, Lathrop.
Second Team
Forward -- Alec Hajdukovich, Lathrop; Brad Schierhorn, South; Tayler Munson, Lathrop. Defense -- Dax Lauwers, Dimond; Bryan Gundersen, Lathrop. Goaltender -- Adrian Oehrlein, East.
Honorable Mention
Forward -- Cory Coles, West; Brad Duwe, Soldotna; Adam Treptow, Dimond; Gage Christianson, East; Cooper Street, West; Connor Wright, South; Michael Stoner, Dimond. Defense -- Zack Rall, South; Rob Monfore, Chugiak; Chase Van Allen, Service; Alev Kelter, Chugiak; Joe Brady, West Valley; Ian Nicoll, South. Goaltender -- Blake Mendenhall, West; Neil Gotschall, Dimond; Seth Kollman, Chugiak.
By KEVIN KLOTT
kklott@adn.com