Notes from the Portal: Gophers pick up new netminder in Liam Souliere – The Rink Live

It has been a busy month in men’s college hockey with the Division I transfer portal.

Over 300 athletes have entered their names into the list, according to our The Rink Live Portal Tracker. Among that number is over 150 forwards, almost 100 defenders and just over 50 goaltenders.

Many of the top prospects in the portal have already announced their new homes for the 2024-25 season. Find out more about some of the most recent commitments from the past week and get caught up on some of the most exciting news in college hockey.

The University of Minnesota had some big decisions to make heading into the offseason. The Golden Gophers starting netminder Justen Close is officially out of college eligibility and cannot return in the fall, so the team had to find a new goalie to bring on board.

Currently, Minnesota has Nathan Airey as a possible starter for next season, but the freshman saw limited minutes in net this year behind Close. The team also had Zach Wiese, a former NA3HL goalie, and Matthew Bryant, a club hockey goalie that was brought up this season, on the roster, but they appeared to be unlikely options to be the top dog in the fall, so Minnesota had to make some decisions about the future of the goaltending position.

Originally, it seemed as though Owen Bartoszkiewicz was going to be the other netminder brought onto the roster for 2024-25. Bartoszkiewicz was called up to the Gophers team in 2022-23 and saw limited ice time as a freshman before he went back to play junior hockey this past season in 2024-25. The 21-year-old split time playing in both the NAHL and USHL over the past few months but after earning a sub-.900 save percentage and greater than a 3.00 goals-against average, many Gopher fans felt unsure if Bartoszkiewicz would actually return to the program or not.

And now, Gopher fans have their answer. In mid-April, Bartoszkiewicz officially entered the transfer portal, which means that he is not going to be returning to the University of Minnesota in the fall of 2024 and will be looking to commit elsewhere. On the same day, Minnesota received a transfer portal commitment from Liam Souliere of Penn…