Sammy Robben

Sports Editor

When the puck hit the ice and the buzzer rang out for the final time, 2010 Coppell High School graduate and goalie of the Atlanta Knights hockey team, Derek Willms felt the relief of having blocked a last minute shot and the joy of being the Tier III junior national champion.

Willms was goalie for the CHS varsity hockey team during his senior year, and after high school he continued to play hockey — first with the Phoenix Polar Bears in 2010-11 and then with the Knights this season. As the starting goalie this season, Willms led the Knights to Eastern Junior Hockey League South title, the Tier III national championship and was also recognized by the EJHLS

 as goalie of the month for the month of January.

“Derek was a constant professional, and was always working hard,” coach Scott Fankhouser said. “He had the focus of a professional, and he had a routine that never changed. He played well, was constantly developing, and it was a culmination of everything he had worked for at the right time.”

The 2011-2012 season was the Knights opening season as a Junior A level team, and with Fankhouser leading them they took on a defensive first philosophy that allowed them to beat some of the best junior teams in the country during the national tournament.

“To be a championship team at this level of hockey everything really has to come together perfectly at the right time, and that’s what we were able to do,” Willms said. “I have to give credit to our coaching because our team’s systems were executed to perfection throughout the tournament. Our defense played superb, making sure all the shots came from the perimeter, which made my job a lot easier and, of course, to win a little luck always plays a key role.”

Throughout the tournament in April the team played many top ranked teams including the Helena Bighorns and the Billing Bulls who are ranked first and third in the American West Hockey League, respectively. As goalie, Willms shut out the Bighorns with a score of 1-0, and though they started out behind, the Knights dominated over the Billings in the semi-finals with a score of 4-2. These wins sent the Knights into the finals.

During the finals the Knights played the Long Island Royals who they had played earlier in round robin play. The Knights had 20 shots on goal during the first period and scored two goals. The Royals score a goal off of a power play in the second and third period tying the game 2-2. The Knights came back in the fourth period scoring two, but the Royals responded with a goal of their own, the score was now 4-3. With just 10 seconds left in the game the Royals took one more shot to tie the game, but Willms was ready to stop it and the Knights won 4-3.

“That was the first time all tournament where I really got nervous,” Willms said. “Thank God that shot hit me in the chest because my heart was pounding. We were able to run out the rest of the clock to win the game, and it was just a huge sense of relief and excitement. It was what we had worked for the entire year, and we accomplished our goal.”

As a Knight, Willms had played 21 games, winning 15. He is the Knights leading goalie with only one shootout loss and 431 saves against 55 goals scored against him.

Originally inspired to start playing hockey by the Stars 1999 Stanley Cup win, Willms’ hockey career has been one of tough choices in order to make his goal of playing collegiate hockey come true. After a successful year as a Knight, Willms will continue to play at Stony Brook University.

“I always wanted to play in college, then I learned about junior hockey, and how that was the road I needed to take to make collegiate hockey a reality,” Willms said. “It was a tough decision because it meant taking a couple years off from school, but I knew it was what I wanted to do. After winning the Tier III Junior A nationals I committed to play at Stony Brook University.”

For Willms, taking years off of school to pursue his hockey career was never a question in anyone’s mind. He has continued to take college courses through community college to help stay up with his schoolwork and maintain a 4.0 GPA.

“He had confidence that he could do it,” said mother Shalone Willms, CHS technology department chair. “It was different because it was not like the normal high school graduation with college plans, but it was exciting.

While at Stony Brook, Willms will be majoring in engineering as well as playing on their competitive hockey team. He will continue to use his experiences he had as a Knight to help him in the future, and it is sure to be one he will not forget.

“The bounces just kept going our way,” Willms said. “I am very proud of the way our team played, and I cannot think of a better way to end my junior career.”