Coachella Valley Firebirds re-sign goaltender Jack LaFontaine
Goaltender Jack LaFontaine will return to the Coachella Valley Firebirds for the 2024-25 season. The Firebirds announced LaFontaine re-signed on Thursday.
LaFontaine appeared in three games for Coachella Valley last season, posting a 2-0-0 record with a 2.30 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.
The native of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada helped lead the Kansas City Mavericks to a Western Conference Championship last season, backstopping the team to a 16-3-1 record in 23 games.
Prior joining the Firebirds organization, LaFontaine appeared in games for the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears and Norfolk Admirals. The 6-foot-3, 209-pound goalie skated in American Hockey League games with the Syracuse Crunch and Charlotte Checkers and earned two games with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
LaFontaine began his collegiate career at the University of Michigan before transferring to the University of Minnesota. Following his senior season at the University of Minnesota. During the 2020-21 season with the Golden Gophers, LaFontaine held a 22-7-0 record, 1.79 goals against average, and a .900 save percentage. LaFontaine earned the award for the NCAA’s Top Collegiate Goalie (Mike Richter Award), a finalist spot for the Hobey Baker Award (NCAA Top Collegiate Hockey Player) and was named an NCAA (West) First-Team All-American.
