Huskies to Take Half in 2026 Friendship Four Match

PRESS RELEASE

THE ODYSSEY TRUST

STRICTLY EMBARGOED – 6PM, TUESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2025

THE ODYSSEY TRUST ANNOUNCES TEAMS FOR 2026, 2027 AND 2028 FRIENDSHIP FOUR TOURNAMENTS IN BELFAST

Officially introduced on the Massachusetts State House in Boston, The Odyssey Trust is proud to announce the competing groups for the 2026, 2027, and 2028 Friendship Four ice hockey tournaments, marking a serious milestone because the occasion celebrates its 10-year anniversary in Belfast in 2025.

Founded by The Odyssey Trust and held yearly at The SSE Arena, Belfast, the Friendship Four is the primary and solely National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ice hockey event to happen outdoors of North America. Since its inception in 2015, the event has change into a flagship occasion in Northern Ireland’s sporting calendar, bringing world-class collegiate hockey to Belfast whereas selling schooling, cultural change, and neighborhood engagement.

The 2026 version of the Friendship Four will welcome the University of Connecticut, Providence College, the University of Minnesota Duluth, and Colgate University, bringing collectively 4 famend groups for one more memorable event in Belfast. In 2027, Northeastern University, Quinnipiac University, the University of North Dakota, and the University of Wisconsin will take to the ice in pursuit of the Belpot Trophy. The 2028 lineup will see the University of Notre Dame, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Dartmouth College, and the University of Maine proceed the custom of world-class collegiate hockey in Belfast.

Steve Thornton, Sports Director at The Odyssey Trust, mentioned: “Reaching the 10-year anniversary of the Friendship Four is a remarkable achievement and a celebration of everything the tournament has come to represent. Over the past decade, Belfast has welcomed some of the top NCAA teams and inspired new generations of fans. As we look to the future, we are thrilled to confirm three outstanding lineups for 2026, 2027, and 2028, which promise to deliver more unforgettable hockey memories at The SSE Arena.”

The high-profile event is designed to advertise schooling, social welfare, and neighborhood interplay, constructing on the Sister Cities settlement between Belfast and Boston, signed a decade in the past. The settlement goals to foster stronger financial improvement, commerce and funding, tourism, youth, cultural exchanges, and academic linkages between the 2 cities, in addition to to extend consciousness of Belfast and Boston being progress cities within the related well being and life sciences, inventive industries, tourism, monetary companies, and data economic system sectors. 

Martin McDowell, Chair of The Odyssey Trust, commented: “The Friendship Four began as an ambitious idea and has grown into an event that embodies the values of friendship, learning, and international collaboration. We are incredibly proud of the impact it has made in Belfast and beyond over the past decade, from building relationships with U.S. institutions to providing local communities with access to top-level sport. Announcing the 2026, 2027, and 2028 teams as we celebrate 10 years this year is the perfect way to look ahead with excitement and confidence.”

In conjunction with the announcement in Boston, a particular acknowledgement was additionally made to Ralph Cox, whose imaginative and prescient, management, and unwavering dedication have been instrumental within the progress and success of the Friendship Four since its inception. Cox, who’s a member of the Friends of the Friendship Four Advisory Board, was offered the Belfast Homecoming Ambassador Medal, a prestigious honour offered yearly to excellent people who’ve proven distinctive dedication to reconnecting with, investing in, and supporting Belfast.

The Friendship Four returns to Belfast in November 2025, with the Rochester Institute of Technology, Sacred Heart University, Miami University, and Union College going head-to-head on the residence of the Belfast Giants. The fourth girls’s Friendship Series event will see Boston University, Harvard University, Quinnipiac University, and the University of Minnesota-Duluth take to the ice in Belfast in January 2026. For extra info or to buy tickets for each tournaments, please click on here.

ENDS

For additional media info and interview requests, please contact: 

Tom Home, Communications Manager, The Odyssey Trust

E: tom.residence@theodyssey.co.uk T: 07958 326642