Bears' Championship Run Ends in Heartbreaking 1-0 Loss to Portage Lake

The Fond du Lac Bears’ season came to a heartbreaking end Sunday, as they fell 1-0 to the Portage Lake Pioneers in the GLHL Championship game. The loss ended the Bears' hopes of securing back-to-back championships.

The Bears threw everything they could at the Pioneers, outshooting the tournament's top seed 42-31. However, for the first time in several seasons, Fond du Lac was unable to find the back of the net.

Just past the midway point of the second period, a net-front scramble resulted in the Pioneers’ first—and only—goal of the game, beating Bears goaltender Justin Davidson. Despite the lone goal allowed, Davidson stood on his head throughout the game and the entire tournament.

Davidson, who shut out Portage Lake in the 2024 GLHL Championship, surrendered only six goals in four games during the tournament, including one shutout. He also led the league in regular-season shutouts with two.

The third-seeded Bears opened tournament play in Group C with an 8-0 shutout over the No. 7 seed Calumet Wolverines. Nick Monfils and Nick Sirota each netted a pair of goals, while Ryan Sabel, Connor McLaughlin, Brady Beekman, and Anthony Grebe also found the back of the net in the dominant win. Fond du Lac’s offense was relentless, firing 64 shots on goal and keeping the Wolverines' goaltenders under siege all night. The defense was just as dominant, allowing only 16 shots, all of which Davidson turned aside.

On Saturday morning, the Bears faced the fourth-seeded Mosinee Papermakers. Mosinee struck early with a pair of goals, but Anthony Grebe led the charge back with two of his own to tie the game 2-2 at the first intermission. Dillon Fox’s second-period hat trick gave the Bears the lead for good, while Brady Beekman and Ryan Sabel added third-period markers to seal the victory and send Fond du Lac back to the semifinals.

In Saturday night’s semifinal, the Bears punched their ticket to the GLHL Championship with a 6-3 win over the host and second-seeded Eagle River Falcons. The Falcons grabbed an early lead, but Fond du Lac clawed back as Dillon Fox struck on the power play in the first period. Connor Martin followed with a late-period goal to send the game into the intermission tied.

The Bears continued to press in the second period, with Connor McLaughlin burying a power-play goal to give Fond du Lac its first lead. Just over a minute later, Matt Letmanski extended the advantage. The Bears put the game away in the third when Nick Sirota fired home an unassisted goal, and Niles Owen delivered the dagger in the final minute, securing a trip to the championship.

The Bears finished the 2024-25 season with an overall record of 23-5-0-0, placing third in the GLHL regular season with a 14-4-0-0 record. They also finished second in goal differential at +91.