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Lions collect Big Ten honors in men’s hockey

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Freshman Gavin McKenna (Whitehorse, Yukon) and junior Dane Dowiak (Pittsburgh, Pa.) were named the B1G First and Second Star of the Week, respectively, for their performances during a weekend sweep over then-No. 5 Wisconsin as announced by the league office on Tuesday morning.

McKenna is honored for the second-straight week and third time this season while Dowiak receives his first career weekly accolade. Penn State has now seen seven different players earn weekly accolades on 12 separate occasions so far this season.

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McKenna paced the Big Ten and tied for the national lead in both goals (4) and points (5) to lead Penn State to a weekend sweep on the road at No. 5 Wisconsin. The sweep extends Penn State’s Big Ten winning streak to seven-straight, a program record for regular season conference victories, and is the first for the Nittany Lions against a top-5 opponent all-time.

McKenna collected the first hat-trick of his collegiate career while adding one assist for a career-best four points in a 7-2 victory on Friday night before adding his fourth goal of the weekend in a 3-1 win on Saturday.

The rookie now has points in five-straight games and goals in three-straight, both collegiate bests, and he has registered at least one point in eight of his last nine games played. McKenna leads Penn State and ranks second in the Big Ten in conference scoring with 19 points on seven goals and 12 assists in 14 games this season.

Dowiak also tied for the Big Ten and national lead with five points on three goals and pair of assists over the weekend. The captain also registered his first career hat-trick, including the game-winning goal, in a 7-2 victory on Friday before adding a pair of assists in a 3-1 victory on Saturday.

Dowiak’s third goal of the game came shorthanded and three of his last five goals have come during the penalty kill as he now leads the nation with four shortys on the year. His four shorthanded tallies are also a Penn State single-season record and he is now in sole possession of second on the all-time shorthanded goals list at Penn State with six, just three shy of current assistant coach Andrew Sturtz for the program lead. The Pittsburgh native has now registered points in four of his last five games including three-straight.

Dowiak and McKenna combined for the first-ever multi-hat trick game in Penn State history on Friday.

Penn State returns home this weekend for a top-five matchup against No. 2 Michigan State with Saturday’s contest taking place outdoors as West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium.

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