Mike Fountain
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Mike Fountain (born January 26, 1972 in North York, Ontario) is a former professional ice hockey player.
Mike Fountain started in junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. After playing seven games for the Hounds, he was traded to the Oshawa Generals. Fountain played two seasons with Oshawa and was named to the OHL first all-star team in 1992 and was the spare netminder for Canada at that year's World Junior Championships.
A quote by Elliot Pap in the Hockey News in 1995 reflected Fountains' career in the NHL. Pap said "Fountain is a heartbeat away from a call-up to the big club." (Elliott Pap, The Hockey News Future Watch 1995). While he was an all-star performer at the minor professional level, a lengthy stay in the NHL alluded Fountain through his career.
Fountain was the Vancouver Canucks' 3rd choice, 45th overall, at the NHL Entry Draft. Fountain split the 1992-93 season between the Canadian national team and the Hamilton Canucks of the AHL. Fountain's best professional season was 1993-94 when he led the American Hockey League with 34 wins, 4,005 minutes and four shutouts playing for the Hamilton Canucks. He was named to the AHL second all-star team that season.
The franchise became the Syracuse Crunch and Fountain played there for the next three seasons. He was called up to the Vancouver Canucks for the 1996-97 season but remained the odd man out as Kirk McLean and Corey Hirsch shard the bulk of the goaltending duties that season. Fountain had a shutout and two wins in six games that season.
In August 1997, the Carolina Hurricanes signed the free agent, but he spent most of his time playing for New Haven of the AHL.
Fountain's last season was with the Motor City Mechanics of the UHL. His next chance at the NHL came with a July 1999 signing with the Ottawa Senators. He played one game for Ottawa but spent most of the season with Grand Rapids of the IHL posting a 21-7-4 record. That season the Griffins were first in the IHL's Eastern Division. The next season, Fountain was recalled once by the Senators, but backstopped the Griffins to an IHL-best 113 points.
