Gavin McKenna to Make Penn State Hockey Debut in October in Arizona

Clarkson reached the ECAC championship game last season, falling to Cornell 3-1. Clarkson (24-12-13 last season) finished 20th in the final USCHO rankings.

Penn State will play two more non-conference home series in October against Long Island and Stonehill. Long Island visits Pegula Ice Arena for a two-game series Oct. 17-18, and Stonehill comes to State College for a series Oct. 24-25. The Nittany Lions open the new calendar year with their final non-conference series, a home-and-home set vs. RIT. Penn State will host RIT on Jan. 2 and play in Rochester on Jan. 3.

Faceoff times and broadcast and streaming information will be announced as the season draws closer. Penn State also will announce its 2025-26 Big Ten schedule at a later date.

Penn State enters the season following one of its most rewarding campaigns in program history. The Nittany Lions rebounded from an 0-9 Big Ten start to make the conference tournament and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Penn State defeated UConn in overtime in the NCAA Allentown Regional final to earn its first trip to the Frozen Four.

Penn State finished fifth in the final USCHO.com college hockey poll, the highest season-ending ranking in the program's 13-year history. The finish punctuated a remarkable season in which Penn State was unranked to start, lost its first nine Big Ten games and was last in the conference in early January. The Nittany Lions then won 15 games, reaching the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and winning the Allentown Regional.

Penn State fell to Boston University 3-1 n the NCAA semifinals, capping a 22-14-4 season and a third top-10 finish in its last six seasons. Penn State's 22 wins tied for second-most in program history under Guy Gadowsky.

"The fact that we were so far back, so left for dead and came back to make the Frozen Four, is something I don't think any of these guys are ever going to forget," Gadowsky said in St. Louis. "I know I'm not. I'm really grateful to be part of this group because of that lesson."

Penn State hockey alumni celebrated the accomplishment with a mix of joy, tears and pride.

"The dream came true," Joe Battista, who coached Penn State's club team before it became a varsity program, said in an interview before the Frozen Four. "I feel blessed, becaue I got to be the band leader of both the Icer family and 'Team Pegula.' I could not be happier for the people running the program now. On behalf of those from the past, kudos all around for making this happen. Hopefully this is the first Frozen Four of many more."

Since the end of last season, Penn State has made significant roster moves, bringing in some top talent from the CHL. Penn State also has signed Jackson Smith, a defenseman who became the program's first player to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft.