MADISON – Badger Nation might have to set up an outpost in Europe.
The Wisconsin men’s hockey team will play its first game on foreign soil in 100 years when it participates in the Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Thanksgiving Weekend 2027.
The games will be the Badgers’ first on foreign soil since March 4, 5 and 7, 1927, when UW was swept by Michigan in Windsor, Ontario. It was the first American intercollegiate hockey game played outside the United States.
The Friendship Four along with the Friendship Series are the only men’s and women’s hockey tournaments played outside North America.
Wisconsin will be joined in the field by North Dakota, Quinnipiac and Northeastern. Games will be played at SSE Arena with the tournament champion taking home the Belpot Trophy. The games will be played Nov. 26-27, 2027.
“We’re really excited about having an opportunity as a university to provide our athletes with a forever experience,” Head Coach Mike Hastings said in a press release. “One of the reasons they came to this university is to experience unique things, and this is very unique, so we’re excited to have an opportunity to be a part of it.”
The UW hockey team’s appearance in the tournament won’t be the first time Badgers are in the region that year.
The football team will open its season against Pittsburgh in Dublin, Ireland, Aug. 28, 2027.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin men’s hockey will play in 2027 Friendship Four
