Bears Capture 2024 Kohlman Cup Championship

(Story from FondDuLacBears.com)

For this first time in a decade, the Bears are the Great Lakes Hockey League Kohlman Cup Champions!

The Bears claimed the championship after shutting out the #1 seed Portage Lake Pioneers 4-0 in front of another full building Sunday afternoon. 

"It's the first shutout I've ever had in this league," said Bears goalie Justin Davidson during the post-game celebration.

Davidson stood on his head all tournament, allowing just eight goals in four games, including a shutout in the biggest game of all.

In the championship, the Pioneers and Bears were locked in a back and forth battle right out of the gate as the evenly matched teams were making a priority of protecting their defensive zones. But it was the Bears who broke through first when Nick Sirota got a pass to the slot that he one-timed home past Pioneers goalie Jimmy Pietila with just 37.5 seconds left in the first period. 

In the second period, both goalies would continue to stand on their head making save after save, and both teams laying out to block shots from getting through as the second period would see no scoring.

The third period proved to be the difference in the game, when rookie Zach Welsch received a cross-ice pass from Tom Glomski and sped down the left side of the ice before firing a wrister into the back of the net 6:05 into the third. 

Just five minutes later, with an offensive zone faceoff, Brady Beekamn won the draw back to Sirota who fired a shot towards the net, that deflected off of Dillon Fox's stick into the top corner of the net, putting the Bears up 3-0 in the third. 

Fox would put the icing on the cake with 3:40 remaining on an empty-net goal. 

The Bears advanced to the tournament championship after sweeping through their preliminary and semi-finals matchups. Friday afternoon, the Bears opened up tournament play with a 5-1 victory over the Fox Cities Ice Dogs. In the evening's nightcap, the Bears would win in dramatic fashion, 5-4 in overtime over the Mosinee Papermakers.

After the Bears' Danny Roe was assessed dual five-minute majors, the Makers scored twice on their extended power play to take a 4-2 lead midway through the third period. Sirota would answer the call with his second and third goals of the game late to tie things up. In overtime, as the Papermakers were skating the puck up ice, the Papermakers defenseman tripped and fell, leaving Anthony Grebe to collect the puck and bury a wrister to complete the comeback. 

The Bears then had to wait and see who their semi-final opponent would be Saturday evening, and it resulted in a rematch with the Papermakers after their Saturday morning elimination game victory over Eagle River. 

As was the case all year between the two squads, things were close as it was 4-3 Bears heading into the third period. Heading into the game, the teams had played three times during the season. Although the Bears had a 3-0 record, one game was won on a goal in the final minute of regulation, and the other two were overtime victories. 

The Bears had fresher bodies as they entered the final 20 minutes, and Ryan Sabel scored twice in the period's opening ten minutes to deliver the dagger to Mosinee.