A local hockey player received a special homecoming Friday after a six-month battle with leukemia.

College student Charlie Capalbo completed his victory lap home as he was greeted with signs, balloons and a crowd of friends, family and neighbors.

Capalbo's mother Jenny spent the past six months in Boston with Charlie as he fought an opponent tougher than any he faced on the ice.

"There were many points when we wondered whether or not we'd ever make it home," she says.

"That makes you closer than you ever thought you could be with someone," says Will.

Charlie's battle with leukemia was especially difficult because it was his second time battling cancer. In March 2017, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but treatment had put him into remission.

Now that he's home, however, the hard work isn't over for Charlie with physical therapy.

He says he hopes to return to Fairfield University at the start of the next school year and of course, there's also his dream of getting back on the ice.