Justin Faulk, Justin Fontaine and Mike Connolly, who won a national championship together at Minnesota Duluth, lived together near Lake Calhoun two years ago as they trained for their coming hockey seasons.
"We had a pretty nice three-bedroom place," Fontaine, the Wild forward, said before adding with a laugh, "[Faulk] was making a lot more money than I was, so he picked up the most percentage. We pitched in our 30 percent."
Faulk, the Carolina Hurricanes' 2010 second-round pick and top-minute defenseman from South St. Paul, and Fontaine, starting on the Wild's first line with Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu, got to go head-to-head Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center.
"I'm really happy for [Fontaine]," Faulk, 21, said. "I know he worked hard for it. He spent the last few years in the minors. I know it looked like the Wild were calling up quite a few guys and his name just didn't quite ever get the call. But it's nice that he's getting a shot up here and even has started producing."
Coach Mike Yeo hopes it continues.
"Part of why we kept [Fontaine] is we feel we can put him in different parts of our lineup," Yeo said.
Connolly, who played in two NHL games for Colorado, is currently playing in Germany.
Fighting words
