The Gateway Gladiator Pee Wees didn’t win the Championship, but they put up a fight to the finish. The Gladiators faced the Southeast Cyclones on Saturday night for the Yankee Conference Championship. Gateway got on the board first off of a goal by Ben Demoranville who was assisted by Bailey Tieu. The Cyclones tied the game up early in the second, but Demoranville scored a second goal off of an assist by Stephen Old to put Gateway on top again. The Cyclones tied it up one more time late in the second, and then with three minutes left in the game, the Cyclones scored to take the lead for the first time. Gateway pulled goalie Ryker King, who had played another fantastic game filled with incredible saves, and Gateway put an extra skater on the ice. The Gladiators kept the puck in the attacking zone for over a minute, but could not find the back of the net, and with eight seconds left on the clock, the Cyclones scored an empty netter to end the game 4-2 in favor of the Cyclones. The Gateway Gladiators finished the year in second place out of 20 teams and can be proud of the accomplishment.