Boston Bruins pumped up by young fist-bumping fan

BOSTON -- A pint-sized Bruins fan is melting hearts across New England and beyond. Eight-year-old Liam Fitzgerald was invited to sit on the bench during the pregame skate at Tuesday night's game, CBS Boston reports.

A camera captured the scene as the adorable boy held his fist up, getting a fist bump from every Bruins player leaving the ice. The video has gone viral because of its sheer cuteness.

"You can see his excitement to be there," said Defenseman Adam McQuaid. Liam dressed up as McQuaid for Halloween once. "It's special for him. But it's also very special for us."

Liam has Down Syndrome, and has successfully battled leukemia. After several rounds of cancer treatments, he's been cancer-free for a year and a half.

"When he goes to a game, by the end, more people than not know who he is and feed off his joy and energy," says his father Bill Fitzgerald.

The Bruins held an event called Hockey Fights Cancer in October, but Fitzgerald couldn't make it. The team invited him to Tuesday's game instead, because one of his favorite ex-Bruins, Shawn Thornton, was back in Boston. He won fan of the game that night, and the viral video was born. It's impossible to watch it without smiling.

Daniel Paille not only fist bumped, but gave Fitzgerald a tap on the head.

"For myself and the other guys on the team it's like a no-brainer to fist bump him because he was having such a good time and enjoying himself on the bench," Paille said.