Michigan goaltender Erik Portillo reaches 50 career wins

Last weekend, No. 7 Michigan Hockey swept No. 6 Penn State with wins in back-to-back nights at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, MI. While the sweep was massive for the Wolverines, it meant even more for Michigan goaltender Erik Portillo.

Erik Portillo in the Maize and Blue

Michigan junior goaltender Erik Portillo is in his second season as the starting goaltender of the Michigan Hockey team. While he did see the ice during his freshman year, he was never the true starter and only played in seven games.

After the last two seasons as the starter of an incredibly talented team, Erik Portillo has made himself known as one of the best goaltenders in College Hockey.

Even more so, after last weekend’s series against Penn State, he earned his 50th career win at Michigan. What made it even sweeter was that it was against a top-10 opponent — the 6th-ranked Nittany Lions.

Portillo’s Stats

Last season, Erik Portillo led this team to a 31-10-1 record. Team 100 won the Big Ten Tournament and went to the Frozen Four. After a gut-wrenching overtime loss to Denver (who ended up winning the national title), there was no way Portillo was going to leave Michigan hockey on that note.

Portillo went 67th overall in the 2019 entry draft to the Buffalo Sabers, and while he definitely could have left after his sophomore season in 2021-2022, Erik Portillo had unfinished business.

So far this season, Portillo’s performance has been underwhelming, especially compared to last year; however, he is still a top goaltender in college hockey. Portillo has a 15-9 record as a starter and is improving game by game as we enter the final stages of the 2022-23 regular season.

Against Penn State, Erik Portillo had a season-high number of saves with 51. Portillo boasts a .909 save percentage and a 3.11 goals-against average this year. 50 wins as a college hockey goaltender is a considerable accomplishment — especially in the Big Ten — and Erik Portillo has much more to achieve as the starting goalie on the Michigan Hockey team.

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