Pennsylvania prosecutors on Friday withdrew a felony aggravated assault charge against Penn State freshman forward Gavin McKenna, a consensus top prospect in the 2026 NHL Draft.

The 18-year-old Canadian still faces charges of misdemeanor assault and summary harassment and disorderly conduct for allegedly breaking a man’s jaw with two punches last Saturday.

Prosecutors and local police determined video evidence “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,” the Centre County, Pa., district attorney’s office said in a statement.

Police allege McKenna punched the man outside a State College, Pa., bar during an altercation that followed Penn State’s 5-4 overtime loss to visiting Michigan State in an outdoor game at Beaver Stadium.

The complainant’s jaw was fractured in two places and he is recovering from surgery, the prosecutors’ statement said. They clarified he is not missing a tooth, contradicting the initial criminal complaint against McKenna.

McKenna has 11 goals and 32 points in 26 games for the Nittany Lions, including a goal and two assists in the outdoor defeat to Michigan State. Penn State’s next games come at Michigan on Feb. 13-14.

Last season, McKenna scored 41 goals and 129 points in 56 games for the Western Hockey League champion Medicine Hat Tigers.

He was among the first Canadian major junior players to take advantage of a 2024 ruling that allowed them to leave for college hockey. According to an ESPN report, McKenna is making an estimated $700,000 in NIL money.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Dodgers designated left-handed reliever Anthony Banda for assignment on Friday as they moved to bring back backup catcher Ben Rortvedt on a waiver claim.

Banda, 32, played a key role in the Dodgers’ bullpen during two consecutive championship seasons, but he struggled in the last World Series with an 18.00 ERA in four appearances against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Banda was the victim of a roster crunch. The Dodgers were looking at six left-handed reliever options before he was designated.

Banda was 8-3 with a 3.14 ERA over 119 appearances (three starts) over the last two seasons in Los Angeles. In nine major league seasons, he is 15-9 with a 4.44 ERA in 209 appearances (nine starts).

Rortvedt, 28, was a late-season acquisition for the Dodgers last September when Will Smith went down with a broken hand. He was on the roster throughout the playoffs and started the first four games of the championship run.

The Dodgers signed Rortvedt to a guaranteed $1.25 million contract for the 2026 season before he was placed on waivers and claimed by the Cincinnati Reds. He was designated for assignment by the Reds earlier this week when Cincinnati signed Eugenio Suarez.

Rortvedt hit 3-for-7 with one RBI in the playoffs for Los Angeles. In 138 career games over four seasons with four different teams, he is a career .190 hitter with nine home runs and 52 RBIs.

–Field Level Media

Michigan State guard Divine Ugochukwu will miss the remainder of the season due to a left foot injury, head coach Tom Izzo announced Friday.

Per Izzo, Ugochukwu will undergo surgery next week after sustaining the injury during the first half of the 10th-ranked Spartans 76-73 loss to Minnesota on Wednesday.

The setback was the second in a row for Michigan State (19-4, 9-3 Big Ten), which hosts No. 5 Illinois (20-3, 11-1) on Saturday in East Lansing, Mich. The Fighting Illini have won 12 in a row.

Ugochukwu averaged 5.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 22 games (12 starts) this season with the Spartans. He transferred from Miami during this past offseason.

The loss of Ugochukwu leaves Michigan State with Jeremy Fears, Kur Teng, Trey Fort and Harvard transfer Denham Wojcik at the guard position.

–Field Level Media