Bellefonte
Centre County’s top prosecutor said Friday he is dropping the felony aggravated assault charge that was filed two days ago against Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna.
Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said a review of video evidence — as well as the extent of the man’s injuries, which are less serious than previously reported — does not support the charge. McKenna remains charged with a misdemeanor count of simple assault and summary offenses of harassment and disorderly conduct.
The decision significantly reduces the potential sentence the consensus first overall pick in this June’s NHL draft could face if convicted.
“A review of the video does not support a conclusion that Gavin McKenna acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or with reckless indifference to the value of human life,” Cantorna said.
McKenna is accused of breaking a man’s jaw Saturday in downtown State College, hours after the 18-year-old Canadian scored a goal in an overtime loss in front of nearly 75,000 fans in Beaver Stadium.
Borough police said in an affidavit of probable cause that the man had surgery Monday to repair fractures to both sides of his jaw and was missing a tooth. Cantorna said Friday that only one side of the man’s jaw was fractured and that he is not missing a tooth.
He then told reporters that his office “only reviewed the documentation after the charges were filed.”
“We did not see this before it was filed,” Cantorna said.
Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna talks about the charges against Gavin McKenna during a press conference on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. Abby Drey [email protected]
An officer said the bloody altercation unfolded about 8:45 p.m. Saturday near the entrance of a Pugh Street parking garage after an “exchange of words” between the 21-year-old man, his friends, McKenna and the group he was with.
A source with knowledge of McKenna’s perspective told the Centre Daily Times on Wednesday that the man began heckling McKenna and his mother after the game, and the situation escalated when the person began name-calling his mother.
Cantorna largely declined to shed more light on what was said, but added that a verbal argument “never is justification for physical violence against another human being, let alone physical violence that results in a fractured jaw and surgery.”
State College police said the man was in substantial pain and struggling to speak at Mount Nittany Medical Center. Two of his friends told police McKenna punched him twice on the right side of his face and that they recognized him because he was on the hockey team.
A message left Friday afternoon with McKenna’s defense attorney was not immediately returned.
McKenna was arraigned Wednesday by District Judge Casey McClain, who released him on $20,000 unsecured bail. His status with the Nittany Lions is unclear; a Penn State hockey spokesperson did not offer a direct response when contacted by the CDT.
“We are aware that charges have been filed; however, as this is an ongoing legal matter, we will not have any further comment,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
McKenna’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 11, two days before Penn State’s next game at Michigan.
Penn State hockey forward Gavin McKenna skates down the ice with the puck during the game against Minnesota on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 at Pegula Ice Arena. Abby Drey [email protected]
This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 1:23 PM.
