ROSEMONT, Ill. – Freshman Gavin McKenna (Whitehorse, Yukon) was named the Big Ten Hockey Third Star of the Week following a pair of multi-point efforts in a series sweep against Stonehill as announced by the league office on Tuesday morning.
This marks the first career weekly accolade for McKenna and is the fourth-straight week a Nittany Lion has been represented in the three stars after Charlie Cerrato (October 7), JJ Wiebusch (October 14) and Matt DiMarsico (October 21) were named the First Stars of the Week each of the first three weeks of the season.
McKenna collected back-to-back multi-point games, his third and fourth of the season, with one goal and one assist in each to lead Penn State to a series sweep against Stonehill. He scored the game-tying goal in the third period Friday before dishing out the primary assist on the game-winner with just 22.5 seconds remaining in a 3-2 victory over the Skyhawks.
The rookie then added a powerplay goal before setting up Shea Van Olm's insurance marker in a 4-2 win to complete the sweep on Saturday.
McKenna ranks tied for sixth in the Big Ten and 12th in the nation with 10 points (3G, 7A) through the first eight games of his collegiate career.
McKenna and the No. 4 Nittany Lions begin Big Ten play this week with a Thursday-Friday series in Columbus against the 17th-ranked Buckeyes. Thursday night’s contest will air nationally on the B1G Network.
For more information on the 2025-26 season, visit the men's hockey ticket page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.