Given the opportunity to return home and play hockey with those he teamed with since grade school, Air Academy's Brandon Williams wasn't going to miss it.

The senior forward made the most of it, too, leading the state in goals (26), assists (26) and total points (52) and was selected the Rocky Mountain News All-Colorado player of the year.

His family moved to California before his freshman year, but three years later decided to return to Colorado Springs.

"I never really wanted to move to California; I loved it here," Williams said. "All my friends were here and I wanted to graduate with them. I got lucky and was able to play hockey with them, too."

One of his friends is Taylor Hendricks, also a member of the All-Colorado team. They were a dangerous duo for the Kadets, scoring nearly 50 goals and combining for almost 50 assists.

"Taylor Hendricks and I have been good friends for a long time," Williams said. "We have played hockey together since we were in second grade, so he and I go way back."

Before this past hockey season, the Kadets didn't receive much attention. Williams and his teammates wanted to show that they were better than most observers thought.

"Honestly, from the start a lot of people didn't give us much respect," Williams said. "They didn't think that we had a deep roster since we had eight or nine freshmen starting, but we surprised a lot of people with a lot of very close games; I was really proud of being part of a team like that."

In addition to Williams and Hendricks (23 goals, 23 assists), fellow All-Colorado forward Alex Lofthus of Cheyenne Mountain also scored goals in bunches.

Lofthus, the player of the year last season, recorded 22 goals and 20 assists.

The All-Colorado goalie is Matt Hardiek from Ralston Valley, which advanced to the state championship game in its first season, before losing to Aspen. Hardiek went 11-2-1, saved 92 percent of the shots against him and posted four shutouts.

Michael St. James of Cheyenne Mountain led all defensemen with 22 total points. His eight goals ranked him second among defenders, while his 14 assists led the state at the position.

The other defenseman, Simon Dolginow, comes from the state champion Skiers. He anchored the best defense in the playoffs, a unit that allowed only six goals in four games. That included a shutout of Ralston Valley in the title game, the first time the Mustangs were shut out all season.

Al Butler, the All-Colorado coach of the year, will have Dolginow and a majority of his defense back next season.

"These guys were a big part of our team, even last year as sophomores," Butler said. "Simon has got a great presence on the ice; he knows where he needs to be whether it needs to be going on the offensive or coming back defensively. He has a knack of always knowing where to be."

The first-year coach had to adjust to calling the plays, and he also had to keep his players focused early, as the Skiers played 10 of their first 13 games on the road.

"As a coach, personally, I prefer to be on the road," Butler said. "From that standpoint, you have a little more control over what the players do and where they are at certain times.

"You figure we had seven games at home, which one of those was a forfeit to us. We played a lot of tough games on the road but we maintained and got stronger as the season went along."

All-Colorado hockey

Pos. Name School Year

F Taylor Hendricks Air Academy    Sr.

F Alex Lofthus Cheyenne Mtn.    Sr.

F Brandon Williams Air Academy   Sr.

D Simon Dolginow Aspen Jr.

D Michael St. James Cheyenne Mtn.    Sr.

G Matt Hardiek Ralston Valley   Jr.

• Player of the year: Brandon Williams, Air Academy

• Coach of the year: Al Butler, Aspen

• Honorable mention

Travis Belohrad, Peak to Peak, So.; Al Bohlim, Ralston Valley, Sr.; Braxton Campbell, Summit, Jr.; Nic Contino, Rampart, Sr.; Drake DiNero, Pueblo County, Sr.; Gregg Davis, Regis, So.; Joey Fillo, Lewis-Palmer, So.; Ryder Fyrwald, Aspen, Sr.; Andrew Hasse, Ralston Valley, Sr.; Donald Geary, Rampart, Jr.; Kody Hornburg, Aspen, Sr.; Andrew Lapham, Pine Creek, Sr.; Tate Maris, Kent Denver, Sr.; Tyler Morton, Kent Denver, Sr.; Mark Owen, Machebeuf, Sr.; Aaron Palinckx, Standley Lake, Jr.; Josh Popovich, Palmer, Jr.; Nick Poynter, Air Academy, Jr.; Greg Ragulski, Pueblo County, Sr.; Nick Robertson, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr.; Charlie Ruzkowski, Air Academy, Jr.; Pat Ryan, Rampart, Sr.; Levente Sipeki, Chatfield, Sr.; Josh Smith, Standley Lake, Jr.; Tyler Spinuzzi, Pueblo County, Sr.; Tanner Stansbury, Ralston Valley, Jr.; Jonny Stevens, Battle Mountain, Jr.; Matt Tritsch, Cheyenne Mountain, Fr.; Erik Waring, Standley Lake, Jr.; Keith Yates, Lewis-Palmer, Jr.

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