Men's Hockey: Junior leads by example

For junior defenseman Michael Sdao, his passion started early. The Colorado native has been playing hockey since he was four years old.

In high school, Sdao was a two-sport athlete. He combined hockey with an unlikely partner: golf. But the 6-foot-4-inch defenseman said that even from a young age he knew that he wanted to play hockey at the collegiate level. After graduating high school, Sdao played for the Lincoln Stars of the U.S. Hockey League, the top junior league in the country.

Now an assistant captain for the Tigers, Sdao doesn’t want to stop playing any time soon. He plans to pursue a professional career after graduation. And from what head coach Bob Prier says about him, hard work won’t be what stands in his way.

“He is a great role model for younger players,” Prier said. “He does extra shooting and skill development more than anyone on the team.”

Sdao has made an impact on the program since day one. He skated in all but one game his freshman season, eventually winning the team’s Hobey Baker Trophy for his play and sportsmanship. Sdao said that his favorite memory of Princeton hockey also came from that season, when the Tigers swept Harvard and Dartmouth on the road.

This season, Sdao has racked up six goals and eight assists, playing in 18 of the team’s 19 games. He has the most points of any defenseman on the team. This past weekend, Sdao closed out a game at Brown, scoring the game-winner three minutes into overtime. He also had an assist in each of the team’s other two goals.

“He certainly elevated his game against a team that plays with grit and toughness,” Prier said of Sdao’s play against Brown. “It was nice to see Mike get rewarded for playing as hard as he did. His overtime goal was a high-end skill goal [and] fun to watch.”

Prier had praise for more than Sdao’s play on the ice. “He is also a very caring person who has a tremendous appreciation for his current situation,” Prier said. “He is incredibly responsible within the community and represents his university in a first-class manner.”

The Tigers got off to a slow start this season while adjusting to a different coaching staff, but they have tied two of their last four games and won another.

“I think we’re going to peak at the right time,” Sdao said. “We are finding our way and getting on the right track.”

Sdao and the Tigers hope to continue this trend when they take on No. 9 Colgate and No. 12 Cornell this weekend at home.