Colorado Avalanche rookie Matt Stienburg faces a player safety hearing Thursday following his actions in Wednesday night’s home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The 24-year-old forward was penalized for charging Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak at 17:18 of the second period in Colorado’s 5-2 defeat. Stienburg received a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Cernak left the game and did not return.

A third-round pick in 2019, Stienburg made his NHL debut on Oct. 16. Through eight games, he has no points to go along with 16 hits and 22 penalty minutes.

The Nova Scotia native played three seasons at Cornell before contributing 13 points (five goals, eight assists) and 63 penalty minutes in 54 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles in 2023-24.