04/10/2015
Boston Globe
By Andrew MacDougall
It started with a conversation over a mutual admiration of hockey. On Friday, near the gilded Bobby Orr statue outside TD Garden, Boston’s mayor, Marty Walsh, announced the creation of the Friendship Four college hockey tournament to be held in Belfast.
The inaugural tournament will be played Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 27-29, and will feature Northeastern, UMass-Lowell, Colgate, and Brown.
It will be the first time the NCAA has held competitive games outside of the US.
“This is a first of its kind event which represents a relationship between our cities that has been growing for some time,” said Walsh, who inked a “Sister City” agreement with the Northern Ireland capital as one of his first duties in office.
“We’re going to take our cities relationships to the next level. We’re going to create exchange for students and educators and business people, leading with new ideas and new growth.”
To the victor will go “The Belpot,” a take on the Beanpot, coveted by Northeastern, Harvard, BU, and BC since 1952. The hope is that the Friendship Four is an annual event.
Though the respective schedules for each school have yet to be announced, Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna indicated the tournament games would include league contests and inter-conference games.
“The NCAA is the best post-secondary education system in the world for student-athletes,” said Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Arder Carson.
“We are proud to bring an event that will allow the universities to showcase some of the most talented and competitive athletes in NCAA hockey for the people of Belfast,” said Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Arder Carson.
The event is run by The Odyssey Trust, owners of the 12,000-seat Odyssey Arena and its Elite Ice Hockey League team, the Belfast Giants.