Little Keelan Moxley stole the hearts of hockey fans everywhere after she went from disappointment to joy before Game 2 in the first-round playoff series between the Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets –– and it was all caught on video.

Moxley, age six, was trying her best to catch a puck that Washington Caps player Brett Connelly was attempting to throw to her during warmups last Thursday night; he arced the puck gently over the dividing glass between the ice and the fans.

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Connelly indicated the puck was to go to her before each toss, but the little girl’s excitement turned to sheer and heartbreaking dejection when a fan behind her caught the first two pucks and handed them to children on either side of her.

Her crushing disappointment was soon followed by sheer joy as the third puck toss, made by a persistent Connelly, was snagged once again by the man behind her — who handed it right over to the little fan.

It got even better on Saturday. After the Capitals took the series lead with a win in overtime against the Blue Jackets, Keelan met up with her new friend, Connelly. The Capitals tweeted a picture of the two together, and the child is holding not only a puck, but also a hockey stick, reported Fox 5 in Washington, D.C.

The team said Keelan Moxley and her family were the invited guests of Caps owner Ted Leonsis at Saturday’s game, and earlier this week via Skype, Moxley told FOX 5 she was incredibly excited.

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The girl also led the crowd in a “Let’s go, Caps!” chant before the first period began on Saturday, after being named “fan of the game” that same day.

The new friendship is bringing Connelly and his team luck, too: The Caps won Saturday’s game 4-3 in overtime.

Deirdre Reilly is a senior editor at LifeZette.

(photo credit, homepage image: Washington Capitals Twitter)