Forwards Matt DiMarsico and Gavin McKenna earned Big Ten weekly honors for the second time this season following Penn State’s weekend sweep of Notre Dame, the Big Ten announced Tuesday.
DiMarsico was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week, while McKenna collected Big Ten Third Star honors after both players delivered dominant performances against Notre Dame at the Pegula Ice Arena.
The recognition marks DiMarsico’s second First Star selection of the season and McKenna’s second Third Star nod, highlighting Penn State’s depth as six different Nittany Lions have now earned weekly accolades a combined 10 times this year.
DiMarsico led the nation with four goals during the series, headlined by his third hat trick of the season in Friday’s 4-1 victory. He added the game-winning goal in both contests, including a power-play tally in Saturday’s finale.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.The junior forward became the first Nittany Lion to record multiple hat tricks in a single season and now leads Penn State with 14 goals and 26 points, tied for third among Big Ten skaters with Michigan State’s Porter Martone and Minnesota’s Brodie Ziemer.
Michigan forward Will Horcoff currently paces all Big Ten skaters with 19 goals.
McKenna matched DiMarsico’s impact by pacing all players nationally with five points over the weekend.
He posted two assists Friday before recording a career-best three-point effort, including his first multi-goal game at the NCAA level, in Saturday’s 6-3 win.
The rookie now ranks second in the Big Ten and fifth nationally among freshmen with 24 points, while his 18 assists lead all Big Ten rookies.
No. 8 Penn State travels this weekend to the Kohl Center to take on No. 5 Wisconsin in a key Big Ten conference showdown. The series begins Friday at 7 PM (Eastern).
