Former ISU basketball star Fred Hoiberg was known as “The Mayor” because of his successful athletic career at the Hilton Coliseum and his strong academic performance at Iowa State.

You might as well call ISU hockey team senior Andrew Murdoch “The Role Model” on and off the ice.

With a big smile on his face after his team’s come-from-behind win on Saturday night, kids of all ages wanted to high-five him and yell out his name.

And that’s not to mention the other 25 guys that really appreciate him on and off the ice — his teammates.

His father and coach, Alan Murdoch, said Andrew Murdoch leaves everything all on the ice “just like a wet rag all hung out.”

“What a role model for future generations in Cyclone hockey players to follow,” Alan Murdoch said. “How to be a good student — he’s on the dean’s list. How to be a good fund-raiser — he’s number one in every category.”

The younger Murdoch, a forward on the men’s hockey team, is an elementary education major and is student teaching in the Ames area. He will be going to the Houston area for his student-teaching assignment. He will also graduate with a GPA of about 3.50on a 4.0 scale.

“He cares about kids. He’s going to be one of the best school teachers in the nation. He’s one of the best hockey players I’ve ever had,” Alan Murdoch said. “He’s talking about student teaching in a foreign country [someday]. We’ll miss him.”

Andrew Murdoch has had great success throughout his four years in a Cyclone uniform.

He has played for Team USA at the World University games twice and been one of the best in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League for some time — he earned First Team All-CSCHL this season. Heading to last weekend’s games, he had 91 goals and 111 assists in his 169-game ISU career.

Before he played for the Cyclones, Andrew Murdoch played for the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. Last season, he accounted for 21 goals and 26 assists. His 47 points were good for second best on the team.

Besides playing on the ice, Andrew Murdoch serves as president of the team and president of the ISU Sports Club Council.

He admitted that he will miss playing in front of his hometown fans.

“The crowd here is always great. I love the kids. We give out our sticks after the games,” Andrew Murdoch said. “And even after Saturday’s game, there were like, thousand of kids yelling my name. I feel like a hero. They always make me feel good.”

Sophomore forward Brent Popadych said winning Saturday’s game was special to send the seniors, including Andrew Murdoch, out on a winning note.

“For him to win his last home game, this has to be bittersweet for him,” Popadych said. “He has put so much blood and sweat into the team on and off the ice. He’s been on two USA teams and gone overseas twice.”

Junior forward Phil Hummel said Andrew Murdoch has made his mark on the ISU program.

“He has been a great leader for the team and he always has been. A lot of guys look up to him and I don’t think he knows about that. He’s a great player,” Hummel said. “He has done a lot for the team. He’s just a hell of a guy if you got to know him. He has set the tone with how he plays and how he has fun — it means a lot.

“It’s going to be a big loss for us to lose him. We’ve got nationals, so we’re going to be leaning on him heavily.”

With possibly four games left in the regular season, Andrew Murdoch’s teammates will join him for one last time of bonding and communicating on and off the ice.

They’ll be looking to him for leadership, and it probably won’t bother “The Role Model” at all.