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24 NEW YORK HOCKEY JOURNAL April 2020 By Dave Ricci AMMY DANTONIO smiled, looked up at his coach, Mark Dantonio, and said the words that will forever ring in their ears: "Dad, we did it!" Mark, who had just picked up his emotionally drained son off the ice, couldn't wait to reciprocate. "I was able to pick him up off the ice, tell him I love him, I was proud of him," Mark Dantonio said. "All those emotions ran through me, and not only for my son, but for all those kids. Let's be honest." St. Mary's (Buffalo) came, literally out of nowhere to stun Long Island school Chaminade, 4-1, to win the Catholic High School h HIGH SCHOOL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS '20 NEW YORK St. Mary's coach Mark Dantonio and his son, senior captain Sammy, share a special moment with the hardware after the Catholic title game. S Athletic Association championship. It was more than just sweet vindica- tion for a team that lost in the state title game two years ago. It was an ending for the Lancers that no Hollywood screen- writer could devise in a season that no one could have imagined, with the COVID-19 outbreak forcing cancella- tion of the NYSPHSAA championships slated for mid-March at HarborCenter. St. Mary's victory lap was unexpected, considering the team dropped the Ni- LANCERS SEIZE SECOND CHANCE n Dantonios and Co. repel Chaminade after St. Joe's DQ Andrew Miller (action) St. Mary's forward Alexander Miller battles for position. St. Mary's senior defenseman and tri-captain Michael Walter