A New England native is making good in the Midwest in his final season of NCAA eligibility.
The uniquely-named Gunnarwolf Fontaine (East Greenwich, R.I) spent the last four years at Northeastern University, compiling 32 goals and 97 points and helping the Huskies to two Beanpot tournament titles, while personally earning 2024 Beanpot MVP honors after scoring two overtime goals. He also led NU to a Hockey East regular-season championship and an NCAA tournament berth in his time on Huntington Avenue, where he majored in communication studies.
Fontaine is now finishing up his college career at Ohio State University, thanks to the transfer portal and the extra year of eligibility provided by the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, he’s assisted the Buckeyes in attaining a top-20 national ranking, which began with a nine-game unbeaten streak to open the 2024-25 campaign.
Through OSU’s first 18 games this year, the 5-10, 185-pound Fontaine had registered seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points, placing him atop the Buckeye scoring scroll. He hit the personal century mark on Oct. 26 in a 2-0 victory at Bowling Green, drawing an assist on the game-winning power-play goal by Davis Burnside to reach 100 career points.
According to longtime OSU head coach Steve Rohlik, Fontaine was a true find in the offseason. The Buckeyes had lost last year’s top scorer, Stephen Halladay, to the pros after just two seasons in Columbus, along with two other top 10 point-producers who graduated.
“We saw his (Fontaine’s) name in the portal, and there’s not too many times you find a 100-point guy,” said Rohlik. “You want to build a relationship with them as fast as you can, and what he’s done, and the offensive feel he’s brought to our team, is huge. He also has a great attitude, and I give him credit for stepping in and being a part of our culture.”
Fontaine was up to 109 career points before OSU visited Princeton University on Nov. 29-30. The Buckeyes were turned away by the Tigers by identical 3-1 scores both nights, with Fontaine managing six shots on goal in all while OSU was held to a pair of Joe Dunlap goals. Nonetheless, it was still exciting for Fontaine to be back east for Thanksgiving weekend.
“It feels nice,” he said after the second contest at Princeton’s century-old Hobey Baker Memorial Rink. “My family came to watch, and it’s a little closer to home. It’s my first time playing here, and it’s a special rink.”
Besides lining up at left wing at even strength, with a changing cast of linemates so far this season, Fontaine has also been a fixture on the OSU power play, setting up in the right faceoff circle in the attacking zone. After four seasons skating in Hockey East, he quickly acclimated himself to the rugged Big Ten conference.
“It’s definitely a switch-up, and a little more comparable to the NHL,” he admitted. “There’s a lot of skilled players in this league who have gone on to the NHL, and hopefully I’ll continue to play at a high level.”
Back in Big Ten action with a pair of games against visiting Penn State the first weekend of December, Fontaine added some Buckeye leaves to his silver helmet by notching two goals in a 4-0 win in the opener. He then added an assist in a 4-2 triumph in the clincher, as OSU improved to 4-2-0 in the conference.
He closed out the calendar year by setting up both Buckeye goals in a 2-1 overtime victory over Notre Dame on Dec. 13, then added an insurance goal the next night in a 3-1 triumph over the Fighting Irish. OSU (13-4-1 overall, 6-2-0 Big Ten) then went on hiatus until going outdoors at The Frozen Confines/Big Ten Hockey Series on Jan. 3 against archrival Michigan at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
“We’re obviously leaning on him heavily right now,” said Rohlik. “He has room to grow, and we’re going to push him to get out of his comfort zone.”
Fontaine comes from a hockey family, as his older sisters Alex and Skylar played for Union and Northeastern, respectively.
OSU entered the USCHO.com poll at No. 19 on Oct. 21, and eventually rose to No. 12 by Nov. 25. Besides the Princeton series, the Buckeyes’ only losses early on came to Big Ten rival Michigan State, also on the road.
Fontaine, 24, prepped with a number of clubs and schools, including the Providence Capitals, Boston Jr. Bandits, Cape Cod Whalers, Lawrence Academy and the Chicago Steel, before enrolling at Northeastern. He was selected in the 7th round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators following two high-scoring seasons in the USHL, and later participated in Nashville’s 2023 development camp.
He fashioned a five-game scoring streak from Oct. 25 through Nov. 8 this season, in which he tallied his first career goal at OSU to go along with six assists.
“I want to be the best player for my team, and help the team move forward,” he explained.
Before embarking upon a possible professional career, Fontaine wants to leave nothing on the proverbial table with the Buckeyes, who are looking to claim their first Big Ten title since 2019, and earn their first NCAA invitation since 2023 when they fell to eventual national champion Quinnipiac in a regional final after first routing Harvard. OSU then went 14-20-4 overall in 2023-24, the first time it finished below .500 in three seasons.
“Ohio State didn’t have the best season last year,” said Fontaine. “We were ranked pretty early (this year), but we have lot of work to do.”
His current head coach, who has led OSU to five NCAA tournament berths and one Frozen Four in 11 seasons, agrees that the sky is the limit if Fontaine continues to work hard and take advantage of the resources a Big Ten school like OSU offers.
“We will push him to be the best version of Gunnarwolf Fontaine he can be,” said Rohlik.
