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Gavin McKenna makes Penn State hockey debut in wild season opener at Arizona State

October 4, 2025
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A highly anticipated season for Penn State got underway on Friday night, as the No. 5 Nittany Lions took on No. 14 Arizona State in a season-opening litmus test for both squads. Much of the buzz around Penn State this year stems from Gavin McKenna, the projected No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NHL draft.

McKenna and the Nittany Lion offense certainly didn’t disappoint in their debut, rallying past the Sun Devils for a 6-3 win. Check out the highlights below

Midway through the first period, Arizona State was called for too many men on the ice, and Penn State would quickly take advantage on the power play. McKenna passed to his right to a streaking Aiden Fink, who slotted it near post for the Nittany Lions’ first goal of the season. It’s a connection that could become quite familiar for Penn State this season — McKenna put up 88 assists last season in the WHL, while Fink was the Big Ten’s leading scorer with 53 total points.

The Nittany Lions weren’t done with the scoring in the first period, and once again McKenna was involved in the attack. With about 30 seconds to go in the period, the 17-year-old caught a ricochet in front of the goal and passed it out to Charlie Cerrato. Cerrato hit it the first time to beat the goaltender and give Penn State a 2-0 lead.

Early in the second period, Penn State senior defenseman Jarod Crespo was injured after sliding into the wall behind the net. He put no pressure on his right leg as he was helped off the ice, and he didn’t return to the game. With another defenseman, Cade Christenson, already injured to start the season, the Nittany Lions will hope Crespo’s injury isn’t long-term.

Arizona State would get back a goal in the second period after Penn State’s Reese Laubach slipped on the ice and lost the puck. Sun Devil forward Sam Alfano took the loose puck and fired it past goaltender Kevin Reidler to make it 2-1.

The Sun Devils continued to attack Penn State’s net, and the shots snowballed into goals with about five minutes to play in the second quarter. First, a shot on goal bounced in front of the crease and center Sean McGurn cleaned it up to knot it at 2-2. Just 44 seconds later, Logan Morrell weaved past defender Casey Aman and squeezed a shot past Reidler that barely crossed the goal line. In less than a minute, Arizona State turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.

The back-and-forth affair continued at the start of the third period, with Penn State knotting things up with 18:30 to go. Cerrato skated to the right of the net and passed it behind him to a waiting Matt DiMarsico, and the junior put it home to make it a 3-3 score.

Cerrato found DiMarsico in front of net for another goal with 11:56 to play in the third, giving the Nittany Lions the lead at 4-3. Penn State continued pressing to make it five goals, but goalkeeper Connor Hasley helped keep the Sun Devils in it with a pair of great saves against Cerrato and McKenna.

Penn State broke through with 1:52 to play after an Arizona State cross-check set up the power play. The Nittany Lions worked the puck to Cerrato in front of the net, who had his initial shot blocked by Hasley, but he cleaned up his own rebound to make it 5-3. DiMarsico would tack on an empty-net goal late to complete his hat trick and seal a season-opening win for Penn State, 6-3.

Penn State will continue its opening series against Arizona State at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday night. The game will be broadcast on NHL Network and streamed on the NHL YouTube channel.

This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Gavin McKenna scores in Penn State hockey debut and season opener

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