ROSEMONT, Ill. – Freshman Gavin McKenna (Whitehorse, Yukon) was named the B1G Freshman of the Year to highlight six Nittany Lions named to Big Ten All-Conference teams as announced by the league office on Wednesday afternoon.
McKenna is Penn State’s first-ever Freshman of the Year winner and is the first Nittany Lion to earn a major conference award since Cole Hults was tabbed the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year at the conclusion of the 2019-20 season.
Along with Hults, the rookie joins Trevor Hamilton (2017-18 Defensive Player of the Year) and head coach Guy Gadowsky (2014-15 Coach of the Year) as the fourth Nittany Lion to earn a major conference award.
McKenna is also the first-ever Nittany Lion to earn Big Ten Scoring Champion honors as he paced the league with 38 points on 11 goals and 27 assists in 24 conference games. His 38 points are the second-most ever by a B1G Scoring Champion only trailing Michigan’s Kyle Connor (2015-16) and Wisconsin’s Cole Caufield (2020-21) who each tallied 43 points in league games on their way to earning the scoring title.
The Whitehorse, Yukon native became the first-ever Nittany Lion rookie and third player all-time to eclipse 50 points in a season last week. McKenna's 51 points are currently the second-most in a single-season all-time at Penn State, just two shy of Aiden Fink’s program record from last season.
McKenna leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the nation with his 51 points while his 1.50 points per game average, which is also currently a Nittany Lion single-season standard, is also tops in the conference and second in the nation. The freshman’s 36 assists are a new single-season program record and rank second in the nation while his 15 goals are second in the Big Ten among freshman and tied for eighth nationally for first-year players.
McKenna, along with fellow freshman Jackson Smith (Calgary, Alberta), were each named to the All-B1G Second Team and the B1G All-Freshman Team with McKenna being the lone unanimous rookie selection.
The rookie duo becomes just the second and third Nittany Lion freshmen to earn conference recognition on the first or second teams joining current assistant coach Vince Pedrie who landed on the second team as a freshman back in 2015-16.
Smith leads all Big Ten defensemen with 11 goals and 26 points ranking tied for fourth in the nation in goals by a defenseman and tied for 13th in points. His 11 goals are a single-season program record for a blueliner and already rank tied for eighth all-time for Nittany Lion defensemen. Smith’s seven powerplay tallies also top the nation among defensemen while being a Nittany Lion single-season record for blueliners and tied for the second-most in a single-season all-time.
The Calgary, Alberta native registered 17 of his 26 points in 24 Big Ten games to tie Wisconsin’s Ben Dexheimer for the most among defensemen in conference games. Smith’s nine goals in Big Ten play were top of the league for blueliners.
Junior classmates Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) and Matt DiMarsico (Wexford, Pa.) along with senior Jarod Crespo (Seven Lakes, N.C.) and freshman Josh Fleming (Montreal, Quebec) were each named All-B1G Honorable Mention while Crespo was also named Penn State’s B1G Sportsmanship Award recipient.
Fink earns his third-straight conference honor after being selected unanimously to the All-B1G First Team a season ago and also earning honorable mention recognition as a freshman in 2023-24. DiMarsico, Crespo and Fleming are each being recognized for the first time in their respective careers.
Even after missing seven of the first eight Big Ten games this season with a thumb injury, Fink is up to third on the team in scoring with 38 points (10G, 28A) on the year including 24 points on six goals and 18 assists in 17 conference games to finish tied for eighth in league scoring while his 1.41 points per game in Big Ten play ranked fourth in the conference.
Fink became the fastest Nittany Lion to 100 career points earlier this season doing so in just his 87th career game, making him one of three Nittany Lions all-time to have three 30-plus point seasons and just the second to have three such seasons in-a-row joining David Goodwin ‘17 who concluded his career with three-straight 30-plus point campaigns. Fink is the first to do it from the start of his career. Program points leader Nate Sucese ‘20 missed the 30-point mark by just a single-point during his sophomore season and is the only other Nittany Lion with three seasons of 30+ points
The Calgary, Alberta native is now tied with Alex Limoges ’21 for third on the Penn State all-time scoring list with 125 points in his career while his 48 goals are tied with Liam Folkes ‘20 for sixth all-time and his 77 assists are good for third all-time.
DiMarsico became the 10th Nittany Lion all-time to reach 100 career points last Wednesday after becoming the 11th Nittany Lion all-time to hit the 40-point mark in a season the previous weekend. He currently has career highs across the board with 42 points on 18 goals and 24 assists this season ranking sixth in the Big Ten and tied for 15th in the nation in scoring.
DiMarsico’s 42 points this season are tied for the sixth-most in a single-season in program history and his 18 goals are tied for seventh while ranking sixth in the Big Ten and tied for 25th nationally.
DiMarsico’s 42 career goals break a tie with Brandon Biro ‘20 and rank 11th all-time, just one shy of Kevin Wall ‘23 for 10th.
Crespo has impressed alongside Smith for the majority of the season as defensive partners, registering career-highs across the board with five goals and 12 assists for 17 points.
Crespo has moved into a tie for fifth all-time for goals by a defenseman with 12 while his 40 points place him just outside the top-10. The senior is also fourth on the all-time blocked shots list with 192 for his career.
Fleming has impressed between the pipes for the Nittany Lions while splitting time with Kevin Reidler this season, the rookie has posted a 10-6-2 record with a pair of shutouts to go along with a .922 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average.
Fleming’s save percentage is currently third in the Big Ten and 15th nationally and would be the highest in a single-season in program history if the season ended today.
Penn State is waiting on an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the NCAA Regionals on March 26-29 after dropping a Big Ten Tournament semifinal contest at Michigan over the weekend.
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.