Friendship Four

Friendship Four
Tournament information
SportCollege ice hockey
LocationBelfast, Northern Ireland
Number of
tournaments
7
FormatSingle-elimination
VenueSSE Arena Belfast
Teams4
Current champion
Boston University

The Friendship Four is an annual mid-season college ice hockey tournament that has been held since 2015 at SSE Arena Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland with the winner receiving the Belpot Trophy. It is currently the only college ice hockey tournament to take place outside of the United States.

History

The tournament began as a way to foster stronger economic development, trade and investment, tourism, cultural exchange, and educational linkages between the sister cities of Boston and Belfast.[1] Each year four teams are selected to participate in the tournament which is typically held on the same weekend as Thanksgiving in the United States. As of 2019, all games have been played at the SSE Arena Belfast while all participating schools have come from the eastern region. While only two participating universities have come from Boston, many more have come from the same general region.

After the 2020 and 2021 series were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 Friendship Four was announced on December 4, 2021.[2] The series continued in 2024,[3] and is set to be played as a women's tournament in 2025.[4]

Yearly results

Year Champion Runner-up Third place Fourth place Ref
2015 Massachusetts–Lowell Brown Northeastern Colgate [5]
2016 Vermont Quinnipiac Massachusetts and St. Lawrence (tie) [6]
2017 Clarkson Providence Maine Rensselaer [7]
2018 Union Boston University Yale Connecticut [8]
2019 Northeastern Colgate New Hampshire Princeton [9]
2022 Quinnipiac Massachusetts Massachusetts Lowell Dartmouth [10]
2024 Boston University Notre Dame Harvard Merrimack [11]

Upcoming tournaments

The 2025 Friendship Four will be contested between Miami, Sacred Heart, RIT, and Union.[12] In 2026, the tournament will be played by women's teams for the first time, with Boston University, Harvard, Quinnipiac, and Minnesota Duluth participating.[4]

References

  1. ^ "The Friendship Four Hockey Tournament Returns to The SSE Arena, Belfast". Friendship Four. October 10, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  2. ^ "Friendship Four tournament returning to Belfast in 2022, with UMass, UMass Lowell, Quinnipiac, Dartmouth slated to play". USCHO.com. December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  3. ^ "Legacy Of Friendship Four To Continue Into 2024 - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  4. ^ a b Staff, USCHO (2024-09-26). "Friendship Four men's college hockey tournament returning to Belfast in 2025 with Miami, RIT, Sacred Heart, Union; Boston University, Harvard, Quinnipiac, Minnesota Duluth women's teams to play in 2026". College Hockey | USCHO.com. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  5. ^ "Highlights: Friendship Four Final – UMass Lowell 6-5 Brown". Friendship Four. November 30, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "Vermont Catamounts Are The 2016 Belpot Winners". Friendship Four. November 27, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  7. ^ "FRIENDSHIP FOUR CHAMPIONS". Clarkson Golden Knights. November 25, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  8. ^ "A Successful Fourth Annual Friendship Four". Friendship Four. November 25, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  9. ^ "Weekly Release: Northeastern Wins Friendship Four to Highlight Thanksgiving Weekend". Hockey East Online. December 2, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  10. ^ "SATURDAY ROUNDUP: No. 4 Quinnipiac wins Belpot championship in dramatic shootout over No. 17 UMass; No. 14 UMass Lowell rallies from three down for third place in Belfast; Michigan hands Harvard first loss; Brown upsets PC for Mayor's Cup". USCHO. November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  11. ^ "Boston University Win Friendship Four Ice Hockey Tournament in Belfast". Belfast Giants. November 30, 2024.
  12. ^ "Men's Hockey selected to play in 2025 Friendship Four in Belfast". Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics. 2024-09-24. Retrieved 2024-09-25.