No. 14 Arizona State men’s hockey hosted No. 5 Penn State in a two-game weekend series Oct. 3-4 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona. Both games were broadcast nationally on NHL Network and streamed live on the NHL Youtube channel and NCHC.tv.
Projected 2026 NHL draft No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna made his highly anticipated college hockey debut on the opening weekend of the 2025-26 DI men’s hockey season.
Penn State won the first matchup on Friday night, powered by a third-period hat trick from Matt Dimarsico. The Nittany Lions trailed 3-2 before scoring four in the third period comeback. Charlie Cerrato tied a program record with five points in a game (2G, 3A), and McKenna chipped in with two assists in his NCAA debut.
McKenna got his first NCAA goal on Saturday, Oct. 4 when he scored on the powerplay to give Penn State a 3-2 lead late in the third period. The Nittany Lions would add an empty netter and go on to win 4-2, completing the top-15 sweep over No. 14 Arizona State.
FORKS DOWN!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/T4SiHDHh0t
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 5, 2025
Arizona State vs. Penn State hockey results, Oct. 3-4
Friday, Oct. 3
Saturday, Oct. 4
READ MORE: McKenna headlines Canadian newcomers to DI men’s hockey
Both the Sun Devils and Nittany Lions come into the season ranked, with PSU No. 5 and ASU No. 14 in the preseason USCHO poll — and Penn State picking up three first-place votes.
Last season, Arizona State went 21-14-2, falling to Denver in the NCHC tournament semifinals, the Sun Devils’ first season in the conference. Penn State went 22-14-4 and when on a surprising run to the Frozen Four as a No. 4 regional seed. The Nittany Lions took down Maine (5-1) and UConn (3-2 in OT) to appear in the program’s first Frozen Four.
Both programs come into the new season with Frozen Four hopes.
Before Friday’s game, Arizona State retired goaltender Joey Daccord’s No. 35. Daccord played from 2016 to 2019, going 21-13-1 in his final season with a .926 save percentage and 2.35 GAA as the Sun Devils played in the NCAA tournament for the first time. He was drafted No. 199 overall by the Ottawa Senators and is now playing for the Seattle Kraken. Last season, he went 27-23-5 with a 2.73 GAA for the Kraken.
RANKINGS: 📊 Click here to see the first USCHO rankings of the season
