On Sept. 24, Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey was selected to play in the first-ever women’s Friendship Series in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2026.

The Bobcats will travel with Boston University, Harvard University and the University of Minnesota Duluth.

“I am very proud to announce the return of both the Friendship Four and Friendship Series in 2025 and 2026, and I look forward to welcoming both new and returning teams to The SSE Arena,” Martin McDowell, chair of The Odyssey Trust wrote in a press release. “For nearly a decade, the tournaments have provided unique opportunities for North American student-athletes to have a cross-Atlantic experience in Belfast, using ice hockey as a tool to educate and create a spirit of mutual understanding, friendship, solidarity and fair play.”

The Friendship Four and Friendship Series were founded by the Odyssey Trust in 2015, and are the first NCAA men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments to occur outside of North America.

In 2022, Quinnipiac men’s hockey competed in Northern Ireland, defeating Dartmouth and UMass to claim the Belpot trophy.

The Odyssey Trust has held two other two-game women’s hockey Friendship Series’ at SSE Arena in the past.

In the first Friendship Series, Northeastern took on Clarkson in 2019. The next season, Quinnipiac had its opportunity at the SSE Arena to sweep Merrimack — 4-2 win followed by a 3-1 win — and last season Princeton swept Providence.