BOSTON – The University of North Dakota men's hockey team is set to head across the Atlantic Ocean in 2027, taking part in the 2027 Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland, announced on Tuesday at the Massachusetts State House.
 
"We are excited for the opportunity to showcase our program at the international level at such a prestigious tournament," said UND head hockey coach Dane Jackson. "This event continues to grow the game of college hockey, and we are proud to be a part of that alongside three other great programs."
 
Held annually in Belfast since 2015, the Friendship Four is the first and only NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament to take place outside North America. The high-profile, four-game tournament is designed to promote education, social welfare, and community interaction and build on the Sister Cities agreement between Belfast and Boston.
 
The 2027 field consists of North Dakota, Northeastern, Quinnipiac and Wisconsin, who will compete for the Belpot Trophy at SSE Arena, home of the EIHL's Belfast Giants, over Thanksgiving Weekend.
 
This will be the first international games for NoDak since the 2013-14 season, when the green and white played a pair of exhibition games in Burnaby, British Columbia, and the first regular season contest outside of the United States since Jan. 7, 2012 against Clarkson in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
 
The event will mark the first games outside of North America for UND since 1982-83, when the Fighting Sioux competed in the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. The tournament is believed to be the first regular season games played outside of North America in program history.
 
North Dakota will become the third program from the NCHC to compete in the tournament, joining Miami (2025) and Minnesota Duluth (2026).
 
Further details about tickets and travel packages for the 2027 event can be found here. 
 
FRIENDSHIP FOUR MEN'S PARTICIPANTS
2028 – Dartmouth, Maine, Notre Dame, Omaha
2027 – North Dakota, Northeastern, Quinnipiac, Wisconsin
2026 – Colgate, Minnesota Duluth, Providence, UConn
2025 – Miami, RIT, Sacred Heart, Union
2024 – Boston University*, Harvard, Merrimack, Notre Dame
2022 – Quinnipiac*, UMass-Amherst, UMass-Lowell, Dartmouth
2019 – Northeastern*, Colgate, New Hampshire, Princeton
2018 – Union*, Boston University, Yale, UConn
2017 – Clarkson*, Providence, Maine, RPI
2016 – Vermont*, Quinnipiac, UMass, St. Lawrence
2015 – UMass-Lowell*, Brown, Northeastern, Colgate
 
* - Previous Belpot Champion
 
For more information on North Dakota hockey, follow on social media @UNDmhockey or visit FightingHawks.com.