Two members of Hockey East will take the ice across the pond this fall.
Northeastern and UMass-Lowell will, according to multiple reports, be two of the four participants in the “Festival of Ice Hockey Tournament,” which will be held Nov. 27 to Nov. 29 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
According to the Boston Herald, the first outlet to report the Huskies’ and River Hawks’ participation in the showcase, the tournament will be officially announced at a news conference set for 10 a.m. Friday. UMass-Lowell said it would make an announcement at that time at the Bobby Orr statue outside TD Garden, where the Frozen Four is being played this week, but didn’t specify what would be announced.
Rounding out the field in Belfast will be ECAC members Brown and Colgate, according to reports.
Rumors of a college hockey tournament in Belfast have circulated since the fall, when Boston mayor Marty Walsh announced his support for holding the Beanpot in the Northern Irish capital. Walsh quickly backtracked, however, saying through his press secretary that he “would never move a classic Boston event like the Beanpot out of our city.”
The Beanpot, in which Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern and Harvard battle annually for city supremacy, has been held in Boston since its inception in 1952.
Thumbnail photo via Facebook/UMass Lowell River Hawks
