On Thursday August 13th, the Idaho Steelheads announced the additions of Kyle Marino and defensemen Matt Stief.
Kyle Marino, a 6’3, 220 pound right-shooting forward joins the Steelheads after spending four seasons in the NCAA at the University of Alaska – Fairbanks (UAF). While at UAF, Marino racked up nine goals along with 18 assists and 198 penalty minutes. He did so over the course of 101 games at the collegiate level. As well, in his junior and senior years, Marino was named as the school’s alternate captain.
Matt Stief, a 5’9, 175 pound left-shooting defensemen joins Marino on the Steelheads. Stief is just coming off of his four-year career with Canisius College where he was named by the Golden Griffins as alternate captain in his senior season. While playing for the Division I school, Stief racked up five goals along with 55 assists in 133 games played. Not only that, but he adds to his stats line 32 penalty minutes.
It should be noted that in the Idaho Steelheads press release, head coach Everett Sheen indicated that both Marino and Stief were supposed to make their pro debuts in 2019-20. The pair was scheduled to join the hockey club for a three-game series against the Rapid City Rush. This would have been back in March, but this meeting was cancelled due to COVID-19. It also forced the cancellation of the season’s remainder on the 14th of March.
Marino and Stief, respectively, are the seventh and eighth signings for the Idaho Steelheads. They will be joining six other players who have signed their contracts for the upcoming season. Those players are A.J. White, Will Merchant, Colby McAuley, Zach Walker, Jeff King and Evan Wardley.