It seemed that No. 5 Penn State men’s hockey head coach Guy Gadowsky’s veteran group lost their discipline during the second period as the Nittany Lions committed four penalties leaving star forward Gavin McKenna on the bench as they waded through penalties.
It would be a reversal of fortunes in the third period as the Nittany Lions got a hat trick from forward Matt DiMarsico that helped Penn State get past No. 14 Arizona State 6-3 in Mullet Arena.
During the third period, the Nittany Lions outshot the Sun Devils 20-14.
With an overflow of NHL scouts present, the talent on the ice did not disappoint.
In the first period, after Arizona State got called for too many men on the ice, the combination of McKenna and forward Aiden Fink connected for the first of many goal scoring on the power play to give Penn State a 1-0 lead.
Later in the first period, forward Charlie Cerrato got set up by McKenna and snuck a puck past Sun Devil netminder Connor Hasley to give the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead.
McKenna would be the primary assist on Penn State’s first two-goals.
During the second period, the tide began to turn for the Sun Devils as former Erie Otter forward Sam Alfano got it past Nittany Lion goalie Kevin Reidler to cut the deficit 2-1.
Penn State was missing defenseman Jackson Smith, the No. 14 overall pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2025 NHL Draft, who did not make the trip due to illness.
Smith’s absence got magnified when the Nittany Lions went more than 13 minutes without a shot on goal between 13:22 to under ten seconds when forward Lev Katzin got the Nittany Lions off the schnide.
As Penn State’s offense was neutralized, frustrations began to sit in as Hasley grabbed the puck, Nittany Lion forward JJ Wiebusch tried to poke it in, leading to a scrum behind the net with Sun Devil co-captain Bennett Schimek.
Arizona State took advantage on the power play, when forward Sean McGurn tied it up at two.
Less than a minute later, Reidler allowed Sun Devil forward Logan Morrell to poke one in through the five-hole to give Arizona State their first lead of the game 3-2.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.The Nittany Lions would turn it around in the third period with DiMarsico’s hat trick to win the season opener and improve their record against Arizona State to 8-1 all-time.
Nittany Sports Now’s Three-Stars
Third Star: Gavin McKenna – Forward
McKenna did not disappoint being the primary assist on two Penn State goals. He flashed end-to-end dominance in puck handling and speed. Until he is ready to handle potential short handed situations at the NCAA level, he was a non-factor in the second period.
Second Star: Matt DiMarsico – Forward
DiMarsico was the difference for Penn State in the third period with a hat trick, in most cases this is a first star effort.
First Star: Charlie Cerrato – Forward
It’s hard to beat a third period hat trick, but Cerrato led all skaters with five points tonight (2 goals; 3 assists). Cerrato won the most faceoffs for the Nittany Lions with 10 and led all skaters with a +3.
