The fourth-annual Friendship Four NCAA hockey tournament starts Friday in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with 18 BCHL grads hitting the ice.
Meant to promote the game of hockey in the United Kingdom, the Friendship Four takes place SSE Arena Belfast, the home arena of the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). The Giants roster this season features former BCHLers Hunter Bishop (Vernon Vipers) and David Rutherford (Surrey Eagles).
This year’s tournament features all first-time participants – the Yale University Bulldogs, the University of Connecticut Huskies, the Union College Dutchmen and the Boston University Terriers.
The largest contingent of BCHL alums will come from Union College as they have seven players, including Blake Hayward, Cole Maier, Brett Supinski, Brendan Taylor, Michael Ryan, Sam Morton and Darion Hanson.
UConn also boasts a number of former BCHL standouts in Jonny Evans, Carter Turnbull, John Wojciecowski, Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick Kale Howarth and team captain and Ottawa Senators draft pick Miles Gendron.
Boston University will send three BCHL grads in Ty Amonte, Jake Witkowski and co-captain and Nashville Predators draft pick Dante Fabbro.
Yale’s roster also features three former BCHLers in Kyle Johnson, Tyler Welsh and Brett Jewell.
Previous winners of the Frienship Four tournament include the UMass Lowell River Hawks (2015), the University of Vermont Catamounts (2016) and the Clarkson University Golden Knights (2017).