Broke a dude’s jaw in a bar after Penn State’s outdoor game. Could face 20 years in jail if convicted.

https://onwardstate.com/2026/02/04/gavin-mckenna-facing-felony-charges-over-incident-at-doggies/

42 comments

  1. What the *fuck*

    Penn State men’s hockey forward Gavin McKenna was charged following an alleged altercation in downtown State College late Saturday night. The incident occurred along the 100 block of South Pugh Street, with a report filed at 10:35 p.m.

    State College police charged McKenna, 18, with felony aggravated assault “attempts to cause SBI or causes injury with extreme indifference”, misdemeanor simple assault, and two summary offenses, including disorderly conduct and harassment. If found guilty, McKenna faces up to 20 years in prison on the felony charge alone.

    According to sources, the team had been at a downtown bar with friends and family following the outdoor game at Beaver Stadium. During the incident, McKenna allegedly assaulted an unidentified individual, leaving the victim with a broken jaw.

  6. I went to university with a basketball player that soccer kicked a guy on the ground after a late night fight at the bar. He was an nba prospect and it certainly derailed his career. He was a nice guy that made a horrid decision but in the end you are an adult and these sorts of things can kill someone.

  7. Aren’t we glad we didn’t deliberately “tank the season” just for this guy like half the Reddit Pens fans wanted to do?

  10. Huh. So….

    Either something was said, done that royally pi55ed off McKenna,

    OR

    He just flipped a lid and started wailing on some dude.

    I have a sneaking suspicion we will be hearing a lot more about the “details” in the upcoming weeks.

  12. 20 years is the max exposure, but nobody ever receives the max, that’s just what outlets like to report for drama. Either he’ll plead down to a misdemeanor and face no jail time, or he’ll get a very expensive lawyer and work it into nothing but some restitution.

  14. Absolutely insane. So now we gotta deal with tank for McKenna talks in 2046 when he comes out of the pen?

    All jokes aside this is super sad. Dude may have just throw his career/life away. I suspect the vic is gonna get some absurd offer to drop charges, but this certainly tanks his draft stock a bit.

  15. Damn! I’ve seen plenty of bar fights dahn South Side, almost a rite of passage for a young man in PA. But potentially facing 20 years for a fight is crazy. Obviously, I don’t know the full details but all that for a broken jaw?

  22. Why is an 18 year old kid at bar?

    The case will be dropped/dismissed, and he won’t serve a single minute in jail.

    You think sports people are treated like the rest of us?

  23. Also, felony for a broken jaw is bonkers. This doesn’t make sense. There has to be more to this OR the charges are going to evaporate quickly.

  26. Brilliant 5d chess move by dubas to be able to draft the 1OA prospect with the 32nd pick this year! What CAN’T he do folks!

  28. Community service and a pat on the bum. “Don’t do that again, Gavin!”

    With the 32nd pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins are proud to select, Gavin McKenna, Penn St.!

  30. If this was 50 years ago, the Flyers would have him on the ice tomorrow. Would be an understudy for Schultz.

  31. I’d be surprised if it doesn’t get 1) pled down to misdemeanor and no jail time (civil suit aside) or 2) there is a self defense case. He was sober or he would have been charged for that too. The environment wasn’t your typical college night out. We know nothing about the circumstances of the incident. Without the broken jaw, this wouldn’t have been a felony. And he’a a strong guy, he can play with professional top tier hockey players…. He played in the IIHF World Juniors Championship last year (albeit a 5th place finish). Even a worst case scenario for the kid, he’ll get someone to use a 1st round pick on him. I still think he goes in the top 5, 10 at the latest. Teams will do their homework and evaluate the circumstances of the incident.

  33. No one is talking about the reports that the guy insulted McKenna’s mom, who was there with them reportedly?

    If that is the case, good on him anyways.

  34. If Gavin McKenna throws 1 punch at a dude abusing a woman on the street, breaks his jaw… he’s a hero. Nobody here knows the circumstances and until we do. You can’t make a judgement

  36. He’s privileged. It’ll result in nothing. Sad world we live in. And I don’t care what someone says about my mom or about me or about anyone or anything. All good natured decent humans walk away from situations like this. Unless you feel you’re in danger, you accept the fact that some people are mentally ill and you walk away.

  37. Good thing we stopped tanking for this bum, remember that everyone ? tanking for McKenna ?

  40. “Could face 20 years if convicted”

    I could’ve faced up to 2 years in jail for a misdemeanor in college. What actually happened was I did community service in a library.

    I get that’s not a felony but I’m also not Gavin McKenna lol. He’s not serving shit and you live in a fantasy land if you think he is.

Leave a Reply