Squirts Championship Game: Gateway Gladiators Squirts had a nail bitter of a Championship game against Lower Cape Black Sunday morning, losing its last game of the season by a close 2-1 margin. Gateway came out strong, but with a bad pass seconds into the first, Lower Cape got on the board giving Gateway an immediate hill to climb. Soon after, Juni Suarez matched the LCB goal, getting Gateway on the board and making for a very competitive game. Lower Cape scored again making Gateway continually fight for the puck. It was back and forth hockey with some incredible chances with Ryker King preventing another LCB goal. Despite all efforts and hard teamwork, Gateway was unable to score again, giving Gateway its second and final loss of the season. Squirts played a great season going 22-0-3 during the regular season, and 2-1-0 in the playoffs. Look for the Gateway Gladiators Squirts next season.
Pee Wees Championship Game: The Gateway Gladiators Pee Wees played their championship game against Hanover on Saturday. The Gladiators were clearly fired-up before the game even started, and they hit the ice with a purpose. The defense, along with goalie Ryker King, made it nearly impossible for Hanover to score and the offense applied so much pressure that Hanover could not muster their typically strong presence. The game started evenly matched as expected with both teams battling for the puck. However, halfway through the first period Danny Flynn got Gateway on the board first and that raised the Gladiators intensity higher than we have seen this season. A few minutes later, Jack Martins scored off of an assist by Chris Cogan and Luke Mello, and Gateway ran with the momentum scoring two more times in the first period off of goals by Flynn and Ben DeMoranville who were each assisted by Zach Barris and Martins. The first period ended with a score of 4-0, but Hanover would not go down without a fight, scoring two goals of their own in the third period and then they pulled their goalie and applied even more pressure in the final minute of the game. An empty netter by DeMoranville sealed the deal, ending the game with a 5-2 championship win for Gateway.
The Gateway Bantams play for the Yankee Conference Bantam Championship on Saturday, April 4 at 4:20 pm in Pembroke.