{"id":457386,"date":"2026-02-14T00:50:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T00:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/457386\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T00:50:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T00:50:27","slug":"investigators-confirm-video-evidence-of-gavin-mckennas-assault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/457386\/","title":{"rendered":"Investigators confirm video evidence of Gavin McKenna\u2019s assault"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<p>PUBLICATION<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagohockeyinsider.com\/collaborators\/sam-walker\" class=\"lediv\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sam Walker<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFebruary 12, 2026\u00a0\u00a0(3:53 PM)<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t  &#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/641757.webp.webp\" style=\"width:100%;\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Oct 4, 2025; Tempe, AZ, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions forward Gavin McKenna (72) warms up before the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mullett Arena.\" title=\"Oct 4, 2025; Tempe, AZ, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions forward Gavin McKenna (72) warms up before the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mullett Arena.\"\/>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>Gavin McKenna\u2019s felony assault case just swung on confirmed video footage, and Penn State hockey fans can finally exhale.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators have street camera video of the January 31 incident in downtown State College, and that review is the main reason prosecutors backed off the top charge.<\/p>\n<p>Centre County DA Bernie Cantorna withdrew the felony aggravated assault after saying the video does not show intent to cause serious bodily injury.<\/p>\n<p>The alleged punch-up happened around 8:45 p.m. near the Pugh Street Parking Garage, after Penn State\u2019s outdoor loss to Michigan State at Beaver Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>Police say McKenna threw two punches, and the 21-year-old victim needed surgery and had his jaw wired shut for about two weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Early reports claimed injuries on both sides of the jaw and a missing tooth, but the DA later said it was fractures on one side and no tooth knocked out.<\/p>\n<p>McKenna was arraigned and released on $20,000 unsecured bail while the case moved quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Gavin McKenna and the Penn State Nittany Lions feel the pressure<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re a Penn State fan, you hate the headline, but you also know the video detail is the first real hint this won\u2019t wreck his season.<\/p>\n<p>The preliminary hearing that was originally set for Wednesday, February 11 has now been rescheduled for March 11.<\/p>\n<p>That delay matters, because it buys time, lowers the temperature, and keeps this from turning into a weekly circus around the rink.<\/p>\n<p>McKenna is 18 and eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, with \u201ctop pick\u201d buzz that just got a harsh reality check.<\/p>\n<p>On the ice, he has 11-21-32 in 24 games, and that\u2019s why every update lands like a bodycheck.<\/p>\n<p>The felony dropping does not mean the night never happened; it means the most severe legal standard likely could not be proved on the footage.<\/p>\n<p>Now the next milestone is March 11, and until then, every shift he takes will feel louder than it should.<\/p>\n<p>Previously on Chicago Hockey Insider<\/p>\n<p>POLL<\/p>\n<p>FEVRIER 12|158 ANSWERS<\/p>\n<p>Investigators confirm video evidence of Gavin McKenna\u2019s assault<\/p>\n<p>Should Gavin McKenna\u2019s felony assault charge being dropped change how you view the case?<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PUBLICATION Sam Walker February 12, 2026\u00a0\u00a0(3:53 PM) &#13; &#13; &#13; Photo credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Gavin McKenna\u2019s felony&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5115],"tags":[521,37,96,5263,54382,766,5,181,4,2149,2754],"class_list":{"0":"post-457386","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-blackhawks","8":"tag-blackhawks","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","11":"tag-chicagoblackhawks","12":"tag-felony-assault","13":"tag-gavin-mckenna","14":"tag-hockey","15":"tag-hockey-news","16":"tag-nhl","17":"tag-penn-state-hockey","18":"tag-video-footage"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116066244602890925","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}