The price we pay for freedom is high on and off the battlefields. But one Lockport family separated by service in Afghanistan got the surprise of a lifetime on the ice at Niagara University Saturday night, just in time for Christmas.
Senior Airman Frank Torcasio of the 914th Airlift Wing in Niagara Falls orchestrated a massive surprise inside the Dwyer Arena as the Niagara University men's hockey team prepared to take on Holy Cross.
His wife and three children were invited on the ice for the ceremonial puck drop while he hid in the hall and then skated out onto the ice for the big surprise.
Until that moment Torcasio's family thought he was still in Afghanistan where he's been for the past seven months.
His wife had a big surprise for him too, his 7-week-old baby girl Ella, who he saw for the first time.
