News that may have slipped through the cracks for some readers last weekend, as college football was heating up: Gavin McKenna, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and one of, if not the biggest recruit in college hockey history, and his Nittany Lion teammates will host Michigan State in the first outdoor men’s hockey game at Beaver Stadium on Jan. 31.
A second game will also take place between Penn State’s women’s team and Robert Morris University.
Beaver Stadium, home to Penn State’s football
team, has a capacity of 106,572, making it the second-largest stadium in the United States. Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor holds the top spot with 107,601 seats.
“Our team and so many Penn Staters are extremely excited about this game in Beaver Stadium,” Penn State men’s hockey coach Guy Gadowsky said. “It has been consistently asked of me since I arrived at Penn State, and I want to send thanks to (football) coach (James) Franklin for sharing his home with us, as well as (athletic director) Dr. Pat Kraft, (deputy AD) Vinnie James and the entire Penn State Athletics Department for making it happen.”
Penn State, entering its 14th season as an NCAA Division I program, reached the Frozen Four for the first time last season and later landed McKenna after he announced his decision to leave the WHL and commit to the Nittany Lions on July 8.
McKenna, 17, finished second in the Western Hockey League last season with 41 goals and 129 points in 56 games for the Medicine Hat Tigers. He was named player of the year in both the WHL and the Canadian Hockey League. Only Spokane’s Andrew Cristall had more points, with 48 goals and 132 points in 57 games.
“McKenna is in a special category that you only come across every few years,” NHL Central Scouting vice president and director Dan Marr said. “His offensive instincts and playmaking game are truly exceptional and it’s his composure, compete and maturity that really sell you on his talent.”
Times for the games will be announced at a later date.
With many PensBurgh readers based in and around the Pittsburgh area, will you be nabbing tickets to the outdoor spectacle or making a regular-season trip to Pegula Ice Arena to get a glimpse at the young phenom and other high-profile recruits like freshman defenseman Jackson Smith and forward prospect Aiden Fink?
