The Kohlman Cup Returns to Michigan!

2025-04-01

Pioneers take down the Fond Du Lac Bears in Championship game 1-0

The Portage Lake Pioneers claimed the 2025 Kohlman Cup championship with a thrilling 1-0 victory over the Fond du Lac Bears on Sunday, capping off the four-day GLHL Tournament.

The Portage Lake Pioneers claimed the 2025 Kohlman Cup championship with a thrilling 1-0 victory over the Fond du Lac Bears on Sunday, capping off the four-day GLHL Tournament.

After being shut out in the 2024 championship game against Fond du Lac, the Pioneers returned the favor, with goaltender Aaron Petrulis posting a 42-save shutout.

“I feel amazing. Best feeling ever to have a shutout in a championship game. Can’t get any better than that,” said Petrulis after the game. “They were playing great. We were doubling down on pucks in the corners, getting pucks out of the zone left and right. Penalty kill, 100%—just amazing the way they played.”

The lone goal of the game came midway through the second period, when Dawson McKay found the back of the net after a scramble in front of the Bears' goal.

“It was a hard-fought game all around. We got a greasy one to go up 1-0, and luckily, that was the only goal scored all game,” said McKay.

Greasy goals were exactly what it was going to take to find the back of the net against Bears goaltender Justin Davidson. Davidson, who shut out Portage Lake in the 2024 championship, allowed only one goal this time around on a net-front scramble and surrendered just six goals over four tournament games. He led the league in regular-season shutouts with two.

After winning the regular-season championship for the second consecutive year, the Pioneers’ road to the title began with a first-place finish in Group A, which included the play-in winner Sun Prairie Killer Bees and the No. 6 seed Fox Cities Ice Dogs.

Following a Friday win over Sun Prairie, the Pioneers clinched the group with an 8-1 victory over Fox Cities. As luck would have it, the Ice Dogs secured the tournament’s wild-card spot via tiebreakers, setting up a semifinal rematch against Portage Lake on Saturday. The Pioneers' offense stayed hot, rolling to an 11-5 win and punching their ticket to the championship game, where they faced Fond du Lac for the second straight season.

Fond du Lac reached the championship by winning Group C, defeating the Calumet Wolverines 8-0 on Friday before overcoming an early deficit to beat Mosinee 7-4 Saturday morning. They then secured their spot in the final with a 6-3 victory over the tournament host and Group B winner, the Eagle River Falcons.

“We made the plays we needed to, cleared pucks, supported (Petrulis) in the net—can’t ask for more from this group of guys. What a run,” said Pioneers forward Zach Hill after the game.

The Pioneers finished the GLHL regular season with a record of 16-1-0-1 and went a perfect 4-0 in the GLHL Tournament.

However, their season isn’t over yet. The Pioneers will close out their campaign with the annual Gibson Cup series, taking place April 3-5 against the Calumet Wolverines. The best-of-three series features hockey’s oldest rivalry and is a battle for the third-oldest trophy in the sport.

Game 1 is set for Thursday, April 3, at Dee Stadium in Houghton, MI. The series shifts to the Calumet Colosseum in Calumet, MI, for Game 2 on Friday, April 4. If necessary, Game 3 will take place on Saturday, April 5.

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