As announced by the Odyssey Trust on Tuesday afternoon at the Massachusetts State House, the University of Maine men’s hockey team will join Notre Dame, Nebraska-Omaha, and Dartmouth to compete in the Friendship Four Tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2028.
The annual tournament features two semifinal games followed by a championship game and a consolation game the next day. The two semifinal winners battle for the Belpot Trophy. The last time Maine was there in 2017, they fell to Providence in the semifinal before rebounding to defeat RPI in the third-place game. Clarkson defeated Providence in the championship game to earn the Belpot Trophy.
The Friendship Four is the first and only National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Ice Hockey Tournament to take place outside of North America. Since its inception in 2015, the tournament has become a flagship event in Northern Ireland’s sporting calendar, bringing world-class collegiate hockey to Belfast while promoting education, cultural exchange, and community engagement.
