What Aiden Fink's Absence Could Mean for Penn State, Big Ten: Puck Drop

Your daily briefing on what's going on in college hockey, everything from the assists on the ice to the Zamboni.

Mar 7, 2025; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Penn State forward Aiden Fink (18) skates with the puck in the second period against the Michigan during a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal game at Yost Arena. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

1. Puck Drop: Thursday, November 6, 2025
2. Hockey East Players of the Month
3. Wednesday's Scores
4. Thursday's Schedule
5. This Date in Hockey History
6. Hockey Quote of the Day
7. We'll Leave You With This ...

When Penn State men's hockey coach Guy Gadowsky announced this week that forward Aiden Fink will be out for the “foreseeable future," it really couldn't be called a surprise.

Fink suffered what's being called an "upper body injury" during last Thursday's win against No. 17 Ohio State, and he was seen grabbing his wrist. The junior right wing subsequently didn't play in the series finale on Friday. However, when Gadowsky added that "he will be back" indicates that he's obviously dealing with something pretty significant.

No. 3 Penn State is set to travel to visit No. 1 Michigan State this weekend then host No. 2 Michigan next weekend. It will then wrap up play for the semester with two games at Minnesota and then be off until January. The good news for the Nittany Lions is that they'll see all three of those teams again in before the stretch run into the postseason.

The Spartans are on the schedule for round II three months after Fink's injury, followed by the Wolverines. The Big Ten Tournament is four-and-a-half months, and the NCAA Tournament is essentially five months. That's the window in relation to Gadowsky's added comment.

The loss of Fink is obviously huge. He was a Hobey Baker finalist last season and was named one of the “First Five” players named to the United States Collegiate Select hockey team that will face Team Canada to open play Spengler Cup in Switzerland on Dec. 26. That's eight weeks after Fink suffered the injury.

In 2024-25 he set Penn State single-season records with 23 goals and 30 assists for 53 points. He also tied his own program single-season record with eight power-play goals. Overall, he ranked in the top-10 nationally in all of the major offensive category including; points (4th), goals (T-9th), assists (T-7th), power-play goals (T-9th), and shorthanded goals (T-8th).

But Fink wasn't posting comparable numbers this season, at least not yet. While being paired with top prospect Gavin McKenna has led to the freshman having notched 13 points in 10 games (three goals and 10 assists), Fink has had two goals and seven assists, with his nine points fifth in team scoring. HIs point per game average is significantly down from last season's 1.33 points per game, which were good for third in the nation.

Gadowsky said he plans to keep Reese Laubach, Ben Schoen and McKenna on the top line like he used in the Ohio State finale, but that doesn't mean much. Not only can lines we changed on the fly, but Michigan State will have had time the Buckeyes didn't to study the Nittany Lions without Fink.

Granted, Penn State defeated Ohio State without Fink, 4-3, to complete the series sweep, and still obviously has a very talent team. But the Spartans are a different animal, with the most NHL-drafted players in college hockey. So are the Wolverines. Expect them to do everything they can to exploit Fink's absence and, at minimum, make sure they get the upper hand for any future meetings.

Remember, the Bg Ten got four teams into the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons, and just three the year before.

SEE ALSO: This Week's Rankings

Puck Drop: Thursday, November 6, 2025

• Wisconsin received an in-state commitment from defenseman Harper Frey. He's playing this season with the USHLs Madison Capitols.

• This is specific to football, but should surprise no one: Extra Points’ Matt Brown “filed open records requests to 45 public institutions at the start of October, asking for total alcohol unit sales numbers for home games across August and September, as well as the total revenue.” In all, 21 institutions responded, and after analyzing the data from the first month of the season, Wisconsin topped the list for both total revenue from alcohol sales ($3.088M) and revenue-per-fan ($15.08). Brown: “Some schools were unable to share data with us because they do not control their own concession sales."

• Eagles Freshman Named Women’s Hockey East Player of the Month

Hockey East Players of the Month

Men
Player: Jack Musa, Massachusetts, Jr., F
Rookie: Justin Poirier, Maine, Fr., F
Defender: Cole Hutson, Boston University, So., D
Lawton Zacher, Northeastern, Jr., G

Women
Player: Ava Thomas, Boston College, Fr. F
Rookie: Violet Carroll, Holy Cross, Fr., F
Defender: Aurora Kahlert, New Hampshire, Fr.,
Goaltender: Tia Chan, Connecticut, Gr

Wednesday's Scores

No Games Scheduled

Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times ET.

Thursday's Schedule

Men
Hockey East
No. 6 Maine at No. 13 Massachusetts, 7 p.m.

This Date in Hockey History

November 6, 1976: Maine goaltender Alfie Michaud was born in Selkirk, Manitoba.

November 6, 1978: Norwich University center Keith Aucoin was born in Waltham, Mass.

November 6, 1978: Clarkson left wing Erik Cole was born in Oswego, N.Y.

November 6, 1979: Former UMD Dave Langevin’s first NHL goal was shorthanded and helped the New York Islanders defeat visiting Los Angeles 4-1.

November 6, 1981: Bemidji State center Andrew Murray was born in Selkirk, Manitoba.

November 6, 1987: UMD right wing Justin Fontaine was born in Bonnyville, Alberta.

November 6, 1999: Northeastern left wing Aidan McDonough was born in Milton, Mass.

November 6, 1999: Former Minnesota defenseman Ben Clymer’s first two NHL points as a rookie were assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning overcame a 3-0 deficit to win at Pittsburgh 7-4

November 6. 2006: Marcel Dionne, Steve Yzerman, Reed Larson, Red Berenson and Glen Sonmor were honored with the Lester Patrick Award for service to hockey in the United States.

November 6, 2006: Minnesota State retired No. 99 for all sports in honor of Anthony Ford, a 9-year-old Mankato boy who died of leukemia. 

November 6, 2008: Former Minnesota right wing Blake Wheeler scored a goal in each period for his first NHL hat trick as Boston won at home against Toronto, 5-2.

November 6, 2016: Former Ohio State center Ryan Kesler scored two goals as Anaheim defeated Calgary for the 24th straight time to set an NHL record for the most consecutive regular-season home wins against one team. The streak dated back to Jan. 19, 2004. The Ducks won 4-1.

November 6, 2022: Former Michigan State center Rod Brind'Amour coached his 300th NHL game, but the Hurricanes lost 3-1 to Toronto. His 182 wins were the fifth-most through the first 300 games in NHL history.

November 6, 2023: Former Michigan center John Beecher and former Ohio State defenseman Mason Lohrei scored their first NHL goals as Boston won 3-2 at Dallas. Former Maine goaltender Jeremy Swayman made 35 saves. Beecher scored first, but Mason Lohrei became the first Louisiana-born player to score a goal in NHL history.

November 6, 2023: Former Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes notched his 20th point in only his 12th game, becoming the fourth-fastest defenseman to do so behind Paul Coffey, John Carlson, and Bobby Orr. Vancouver defeated Edmonton 6-2.

Hockey Quote of the Day

"A fast body-contact game played by men with clubs in their hands and knives laced to their feet."

Paul Gallico

We'll Leave You With This ...

🥁🥁🥁And the 𝗛𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 goes to.........@GopherWHockey's Sydney Morrow!

Presented by @hockeytape pic.twitter.com/NiFuCFhg4y

— WCHA Hockey (@WCHA_WHockey) November 5, 2025