Daoust remembered for versatility, value as citizen

Former member of the 2000-01 NCAA championship Cardinal men's hockey team Mike Daoust passed away last Saturday at the age of 34 after battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Originally from Brockville, Ontario, Daoust totaled 36 assists and nine goals over 101 games in a four-year playing career as a Cardinal. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s, a cancer that originates in the white blood cells, in 2008.

He’s known in the Cardinal sports world for scoring one of the most memorable goals in the history of Plattsburgh State hockey, but Head Coach Bob Emery stressed his importance as an individual in the community.

“He was more valuable as a citizen to the Plattsburgh community,” Emery said.

Daoust was an active alumnus who stayed and worked in the Plattsburgh area for two summers at the Champlain Telephone Company. He was also an R.A. on campus.

Current Assistant Coach Steve Moffat played with Daoust as a senior in 1998.

“He was always there with a smile,” Moffat said. “He always loved being with the guys on the team. He lived life to the fullest.”

Both Emery and Moffat stressed his versatility as an athlete on the ice. Daoust played both wing and center.

Emery described Daoust as a “jack of all trades.”

“He could play any type of situation at any time,” Emery said.

Moffat made note that the stats don’t speak for the type of player and person Daoust was.

“He was a real big strong kid who worked real hard,” Moffat said. “He could play with anybody. He stayed in touch with everyone (on the team) and made everyone close to him.”

Although the career stats may not jump off the paper, Daoust would make his name known to the country in 1999.

In the 1999-2000 NCAA Division III quarterfinals, PSUC faced off against five-time defending champion Middlebury. After two games ended in a tie, the series had to be settled in a mini-game. It was a game in which Daoust, number nine, would etch a permanent mark in the Cardinal record books.

With the clock at 12:59 in sudden death overtime, Daoust scored the game-winning goal after a breakaway by teammate Mark Coletta. The win ended Middlebury’s streak of five consecutive championships.

After a third place finish in 1999, the Cardinals went on to claim the national title in the following season. They defeated Middlebury in the quarterfinals and Wisconsin-Superior in the semifinals.

The Cards went on to defeat RIT, 6-2, in RIT. It was the last time Plattsburgh State won the national title. In what was his final season as a Cardinal, Daoust finished on top.