BOSTON, Mass. – The Colgate men’s ice hockey team is headed back to Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2019 as it was announced that the Raiders will be part of the 2019 Friendship Four, the fifth installment of the tournament.
Joining Colgate in Belfast will be Northeastern, who also competed at the Friendship Four in 2015, along with newcomers Princeton and New Hampshire as announced by The Odyssey Trust, owners of the Stena Line Belfast Giants and The SSE Arena.
“We could not be more exciting to be part of the 2019 Friendship Four,” head coach Don Vaughan said. “Everyone involved in the inaugural tournament and all of the people we met in Belfast were amazing. It was such a great educational experience for our student-athletes in a great hockey city.”
The games are set for November 29-30, 2019, at SSE Arena in Belfast, the home of the Belfast Giants. Throughout the trip in 2015, Colgate spent time in the community at several schools in the area as well as touring the historic parts of Belfast and the surrounding area.
The Friendship Four is a tournament that brings two teams from ECAC Hockey and two from Hockey East to Northern Ireland for competition as part of a mission to grow the game of hockey.
More information regarding the 2019 Friendship Four will be available later this year and throughout the 2019 calendar year leading up to the tournament.
Colgate men’s hockey alumni Spiro Goulakos ’15 and Darcy Murphy ’16 played for the Belfast Giants during the 2017-18 season, and led the organization to its second Challenge Cup in program history.
Goulakos has 12 goals and 44 assists for 56 points in 47 games in addition to two goals and seven assists in the Challenge Cup games. He was fourth among defenders in the Elite League with 56 points and second in assists by a defenseman.
Murphy has 26 goals and 22 assists for 48 points in 55 games, and had seven goals and two assists for nine points in the Challenge Cup. Murphy tied for 15th in the league with 26 goals and was fourth on the team.
