There is a lot of college hockey this weekend, with most of it played outside the confines of conference matchups.  In fact, it will be an opportunity for teams like Notre Dame (at Boston College) and Ohio State (at Arizona State) to see a different part of the country for a weekend.

The schedule includes some unique stand-alone games.  In Denver, the Pioneers will host the Minnesota Gophers in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game on Saturday.  The meeting will be at Ball Arena, home of the Colorado Avalanche.  It will be the first game between the two programs since both were members of the WCHA, more than a decade ago.  Meanwhile, at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Boston University will skate against Cornell.  Large contingents of alumni representing both schools will create an exciting atmosphere in Manhattan.  The first-ever game between the two programs was played just over 100 years ago in early 1925.
 
However, two of the most intriguing events each involve four teams and – not surprisingly – a fair number of former Waterloo Black Hawks.

Friendship Four – Belfast, Northern Ireland

Almost a third of the teams playing NCAA Division I hockey have been to Ireland for this event which was inaugurated in 2015.  In 2025, Union is the only team that will be traveling across the Atlantic for the second time.  On Friday, the Garnet Chargers (formerly the Dutchmen) will meet Sacred Heart, while Miami faces RIT.  The winners of those games square off on Saturday.

Union – Will Felicio & Jacob Jeannette

Felicio spent his freshman season at the University of Michigan and transferred this summer.  The defenseman scored his first Union goal last weekend during a 2-1 loss to Cornell.  Felicio has appeared in all 13 games with five points and a +1 plus/minus mark.  Jeannette has seven games to his credit and notched a goal against Mercyhurst on October 11th.  By coincidence, current Waterloo goalie Michael Chambre was in net that night against Union before returning to the USHL a few weeks later.

Sacred Heart – Jack Spicer & Ray Fust

Spicer started last season in the North American Hockey League but accepted the opportunity to jump to college at the semester break.  He has not yet played in a game for the Pioneers.  Fust is a newcomer to the program following a two-season stint with the Omaha Mavericks and last winter with Clarkson.  In 11 games, he has three points (one goal, two assists).  Playing in Ireland will add another passport stamp for Fust, who was a junior player in the United States and Canada, as well as representing Switzerland at a number of international competitions.

Miami – Michael Phelan & Bradley Walker

As a freshman, Phelan has been an every-game player for the RedHawks, helping the program to an 8-4-0 start, including wins in their first six games.  The defenseman from the Chicago suburbs picked up an assist in his debut against Ferris State on October 3rd, then another last weekend in NCHC competition against St. Cloud State.  Walker is a fellow first-year skater, but missed much of October and the early weeks of November.  He did score his first collegiate goal against Ferris State in the season opener.

Adirondack Winter Invitational – Lake Placid, New York

Mention Lake Placid to any American hockey fan and images of the 1980 gold medal team will likely spring to mind.  Even though most of the players appearing in this year's Winter Invitational were born more than 20 years after that seminal moment, it's a story they've all heard.  It won't be lost on anyone in attendance that the games are at Herb Brooks Arena.  This will be the third year of the event.  The competition is not bracketed, so the participating teams – Massachusetts-Lowell, Alaska, Clarkson, and St. Lawrence – know who they will face on Saturday, whether they win or lose on Friday.

Alaska – Adam Cardona, Carson Reed & Calvin Vachon

The Hawks are well-represented in Fairbanks.  Cardona is a junior; he skated at Lowell during his freshman season but transferred before last year.  In 2025/26, he has a pair of assists while playing in 10 of 11 games.  Reed also arrived on the Nanooks blue line last fall, but as a true freshman.  He has one assist this season and three total points (one goal, two assists) at the collegiate level.  Vachon made his NCAA debut this autumn against Minnesota-Duluth on October 4th, stopping 21 of 24 shots in a 4-1 loss.  He has also appeared against Wisconsin and Princeton, starting three of the four times he has been in the net.

Massachusetts-Lowell – Niko Goich

Goich is waiting to play in his first collegiate game.  He was in the NAHL with the Shreveport Mudbugs last season.

St. Lawrence – Teddy Mallgrave

The Saints program is commemorating 100 years of hockey in 2026.  Mallgrave is in year one at the collegiate level.  If he notches a goal or an assist in Lake Placid, it will be his first NCAA point.  Mallgrave has played in six contests, including three ECAC matchups against Harvard, Princeton, and Quinnipiac.

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