Fond du Lac has finished three times as state runnerups. Saturday in Madison, the Cardinals broke through for their first ever WIAA State High School hockey championship, beating Superior 3-1 in the championship game.
Fond du Lac (24-2) earned second place finishes in 1995, 2001 and 2006. Last year's final was an 8-1 setback to University School of Milwaukee.
This time, Senior goaltender Randy Willis was up for the challenge. He stopped 30 Superior shots as he continued his rock solid play in the net to help Fond du Lac win the title.
Ryan Smet scored two goals, including the game winner for the Cardinals. Adam Hettenhaus added a late goal to give Fond du Lac the final Margin. John LeDoux scored Superior's goal.
The loss for the Spartans prevented them from winning a record 13th WIAA championship.