No. 5 Penn State men's hockey had a shocking weekend in South Bend, Ind. after barely scraping by in a shootout win on Friday, Feb. 27 and following it up with an overtime loss on Saturday night versus unranked Notre Dame.
Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna overtime winner makes SportsCenter Top 10
The Nittany Lions barely came back Friday night, falling three goals behind in the first period alone. It took the blue and white all three periods to notch goals that sent the matchup into overtime and eventually the shootout. Forward Gavin McKenna sunk in the sole shootout goal from both teams, giving Penn State the extra point.
Just 47 seconds into overtime on Saturday, though, the Fighting Irish knocked the Nittany Lions down and came away with the 4-3 win.
It's not the weekend Penn State wanted, especially as it sought a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. After tying and losing to Notre Dame, the Nittany Lions can practically kiss those dreams goodbye. Western Michigan, the No. 4 team in the country that Penn State hoped to overtake, played No. 3 North Dakota and the teams split the series over the weekend.
So, as the Nittany Lions embark on the remainder of their 2025-26 season with hopes of making it to the Frozen Four and winning a national title, they need a little boost. That can come from forward Charlie Cerrato.
Looks like Charlie Cerrato is back at practice in a red non-contact jersey. https://t.co/ovXsLG2q9G
— Chase Fisher (@chase_fisher4) February 25, 2026
Penn State hockey forward Charlie Cerrato was back at practice in a non-contact jersey
Cerrato sustained an undisclosed injury and head coach Guy Gadowsky said on Jan. 27 that the sophomore will not play for the rest of the regular season, but hopes that he will return for the postseason.
On Feb. 25, Cerrato was seen at practice in a red, non-contact jersey. Expectedly so, he was not featured in the lineup for the Notre Dame Series, but having him back at practice is good enough for Penn State right now. Even if Cerrato can't participate in the Big Ten Tournament, he's on track to being back on the line chart come national tournament time.
Over his 19 games played in 2025-26, he logged 24 points on six goals and 18 assists, eight blocks, a .120 shot percentage, and two power play goals. He is currently sixth in points for the Nittany Lions despite playing in roughly 59 percent of games in the season.
Penn State faces No. 12 Wisconsin in the regular season finale on Thursday, March 5 and Friday, March 6. Both contests can be watched on Big Ten+. The games are slated for a 7 p.m. EST puck drop.