Friendship Series 2024

The Odyssey Trust, The Hockey East Association, and ECAC Hockey have announced the return of the Friendship Series for the 2023/24 season. Two top NCAA women’s college teams from Princeton University and Providence College will face off in a two-game series at The SSE Arena, Belfast on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 January 2024.

The Friendship Series is the first and only NCAA Division One women’s hockey tournament to be held outside of the United States. The event is an extension of the Friendship Four tournament, which was devised by The Odyssey Trust in 2015, and has been developed year on year to promote education, social welfare, and community integration in Northern Ireland, building on the sister cities agreement between Belfast and Boston.

Key focuses of the Friendship Series are education and social inclusion – ensuring that young people and communities from all areas are engaged with education and provided with opportunities, both in Northern Ireland and the United States, to identify relevant areas of study and future potential career paths. To celebrate this unique sporting and educational event, the Odyssey Trust has developed a fantastic programme of events being rolled out for schools and the groups around the tournament, aiming to raise awareness of the role of STEM and Sport in our society and highlight our commitment to STEM education, lifelong and life-wide learning and community engagement. 

The Friendship Four tournament and Friendship Series grew out of a relationship that started when the Boston Bruins played an exhibition contest against the Belfast Giants in 2010, before going on to win the Stanley Cup that same year.

For more information: Friendship Series 2024 (ssearenabelfast.com)