Penn State men's hockey forward Gavin McKenna faced four charges following an altercation he had on Saturday night. Those four charges included a felony of aggravated assault, misdemeanor simple assault, and two summary counts of disorderly conduct.
Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna reportedly facing charges following altercation
On Friday, Feb. 6, the Centre County Distrct Attorney's Office reportedly dropped the felony of aggravated assault charge against McKenna. He initially faced a first-degree felony for the matter, facing up to 20 years in prison and/or a $25,000 fine.
"A review of the video does not support a conclusion that Gavin McKenna acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or with reckless indifference to the value of human life," the District Attorney's statement read, according to Basic Blues Nation.
With the felony charge dropped, McKenna still faces multiple charges for engaging in a fight. Around 8:45 p.m. ET on Jan. 31, the true freshman forward reportedly struck a 21-year-old male in the face. The injuries caused to the male require surgery. McKenna was arraigned on charges and released on a $20,000 bail, per ESPN's initial report on the matter.
"Both our office and the state college policy department have reviewed video of this incident. Viewing that video, we have reached the conclusion it does not support the felony charge of aggravated assault," the rest of the statement read, as reported by Breakaway on SI. "Accordingly, our office will be moving to withdraw the aggravated assault charge with the district justice and corrected the record to accurately depict the injury suffered."
McKenna's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 11.
The former Canadian Hockey League player has 32 points on 11 goals and 21 assists on the 2025-26 season. Of those 11 goals, three were scored on a power play and one was a game-winner. McKenna also has two blocked shots.
Against Michigan State in the Jan. 30-31 series, he logged three points on one goal and two assists. The incident downtown in State College followed the second game of the series versus the Spartans. Jan. 31's contest was played outside at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions lost in overtime, 5-4.