Syracuse, N.Y. — Providence Bruins fan Rylan Mazzarelli will turn 7 on Sunday, and even if 100 more birthdays follow it’s unlikely that he’ll unwrap a gift as special as the one he got Sunday.

That’s when Syracuse Crunch goalie Mike McKenna honored Rylan’s plea on a hand-made sign and gave him a game-used goalie stick. McKenna noticed the boy holding up the sign during the playoff game in Providence and even though Syracuse lost in overtime McKenna still mustered the thoughtfulness to give him a stick on his way off the rink.

McKenna then met up with Rylan and his mother, Candace, after the game for a picture near the Crunch team bus.

“You just don’t see a sign like that very often. If somebody goes out of their way to actually do that for a young kid…if we can make that happen, that’s great,” McKenna said Tuesday. “Yeah, we’d lost the game but it’s not the end of the world. I just thought it was the right thing to do.”

McKenna has played for many AHL teams during his career (although never Providence) and apparently is a fan favorite in several rinks. McKenna said he’s always remembered the thrill he got when he was a 5-year-old growing up in St. Louis and Blues goalie Greg Millen gave him a stick. McKenna said he still has that stick today.

“I’m not big on motivational quotes. But there was a quote that’s on a plaque that had my grandpa on it in St. Louis, ‘You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give,”’ McKenna said “That’s something that always kind of stuck with me. There’s so much more to the world than just the game. Any time you can make a positive impression on a kid, you never know when that’s going to get turned around later in life.”

And the way he described meeting with Rylan after the game, McKenna sounded like the gift-giving was a two-way street.

“It was great. He gave me a hug. You could just tell he was ecstatic. That stuff means a lot to me,” McKenna said. “Winning games is obviously what we’re here for and everything. Those always stick with you. But little moments like that along the way, or little notes you get, I’ve saved a lot of those over the years that hopefully you can look back and smile on, that you’ve done something more than just on the ice. Little things. It doesn’t take much.”

McKenna might get another chance to run into his new buddy this weekend. Candace indicated they will be visiting the War Memorial for Game 5 on Saturday.