No. 5 Penn State men's hockey started its season off with a win over No. 14 Arizona State, 6-3. The Nittany Lions (1-0) opened scoring with two goals in the first period that went unanswered, and forward Gavin McKenna was to thank for paving the way for those netted pucks.
In the back half of the first period, McKenna logged his second primary assist.
Unlike the first assist, it was less sight and more feeling from his stick work in front of the net. With nearly 30 seconds left of the first period, McKenna found himself in front of the net in the midst of a a trio of Sun Devils (0-1). He lightly tapped the puck over to Charlie Cerrato and Cerrato put the puck behind goaltender Connor Hasley and Penn State up by two.
1 Period 2 Points for Gavin McKenna.
— The Prospect Don (@TheProspectDon) October 4, 2025
Predict how many points McKenna finishes the year with for @PennStateMHKY pic.twitter.com/Du94A9pa6J
Earlier in the first period on a power play, McKenna recollected the puck just before the blue line after Hasley saved a shot. With three Sun Devils clogging up the path McKenna intended to pass the puck through, the freshman got back in control of the puck and skated ahead of the three players in maroon and yellow.
McKenna faked out the Sun Devil defenseman ahead of him. He waited for Joel Kjellberg to make a decision as the forward neared Hasley. Kjellberg switched his stick over to McKenna's left, expecting the freshman to take a shot. The moment it was too late for him to move his stick back over, McKenna swiped the puck over to Aiden Fink on his right who one-timed it and lit the lamp.
The early production from McKenna isn't surprising, but it also wasn't 100 percent expected. The transition from junior league hockey to the college level is something all players need to adjust to, whether they come from the United States Hockey League or Canadian Hockey League. While McKenna is a generational talent, that leap is still something he has to take. So with his early point-tallying in the season, it's a good sign for head coach Guy Gadowsky that his incoming star is already on a path to success that will only grow bigger from game one.
McKenna and the Nittany Lions return to the sheet at Arizona State on Saturday, Oct. 4. Puck drop in game two of the series is slated for 8 p.m. ET and the game can be watched on NHL Network or streamed via the network's YouTube channel.