DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth redshirt senior
is excited for a variety of reasons to visit Ireland and Northern Ireland with her Bulldogs teammates next week for the 2026 Friendship Series in Belfast.
As her name might suggest, O’Brien has Irish heritage. Her grandfather emigrated from Ireland to the United States when he was 16, and she has family from her mother’s side living in the Republic of Ireland.
The Bulldogs also have four Europeans on the roster in 2025-26, and while all four are from Scandinavia — not the Emerald Isle — O’Brien is looking forward to the Bulldogs experiencing their continent for a week.
“We have a lot of Europeans on our team. They come here and they’re in our world for 90% of the year,” O’Brien said. “Now our whole team is going to be in their world. Nobody’s from Ireland on our team, but to be in Europe, for most people it will be their first time over there. That’ll be really exciting.”
The Bulldogs are competing in the first four-team Friendship Series next week along with Harvard, Boston University and Quinnipiac at SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Previously a two-team affair, the New Year’s event expanded by two teams in 2026 to match the four-team Friendship Four men’s NCAA tournament that is played over the American Thanksgiving weekend.
The Bulldogs are returning to campus on Dec. 26 and flying out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Dec. 28. They’re scheduled to land in Dublin in the Republic of Ireland on Dec. 29, do some sightseeing there, and travel to Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom on Dec. 29.
The team’s four Europeans will be meeting UMD in Dublin rather than flying back-and-forth between Europe.
Fifth-ranked UMD (12-6) opens the tournament against the Crimson (7-6-1) at 9 a.m. CST (3 p.m. in Belfast) on Friday, Jan. 2 and will play either the Terriers (4-11-2) or No. 8 Bobcats (14-5-1) in the consolation game or championship on Jan. 3. They fly out of Dublin for Minnesota on Jan. 4.
While the Bulldogs have brought in players from across the globe — eight countries, including six from Europe — the program has never played outside the United States, according to head coach Laura Schuler.
“We are so excited. Who gets to do a trip like this? It is a huge milestone for our program,” Schuler said when previewing the Friendship Series this month. “To go somewhere where it is so rich in history and culture, it makes it that much more special. We’re super excited to represent the WCHA, our university and the great city of Duluth.”
2026 Friendship Series
SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Jan. 3, 2026
No. 5 Minnesota Duluth vs. Harvard, 9 a.m. CST
Boston University vs. No. 8 Quinnipiac, 1 p.m. CST
Jan. 4, 2026
Third-place game, 9 a.m. CST
Championship, 1 p.m. CST
The Friendship Series and Friendship Four — which the Bulldogs men will take part in next season — are played at the home of the Belfast Giants of the UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League, the league former Bulldog Adam Johnson was playing in at the time of his death in 2023.
There is no professional women’s hockey in Northern Ireland. Both O’Brien and Schuler said they’re proud to represent NCAA women’s hockey in a country where the sport may not be as well known, especially at the elite level.
“They’re continuing to grow the game there, so what a great opportunity for us to showcase some of the best hockey in the world over there,” Schuler said. “We’re really excited for that opportunity as well.”
Harvard women’s hockey coach Laura Bellamy of Duluth looks on from the Crimson bench during her first season leading the program in 2023-24. Prior to taking over her alma mater, Bellamy spent eight seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach at Minnesota Duluth.
Contributed / Harvard Athletics
The Bulldogs’ opening opponent, Harvard, is a familiar one for a variety of reasons. The two programs have met 23 times, most recently in November 2022 when UMD swept the Crimson in Duluth. That was Laura Bellamy’s last season on staff at UMD as associate head coach before becoming Harvard’s head coach.
O’Brien, senior forward Danielle Burgen and senior defenseman Tova Henderson are the only three players that remain from the 2022-23 Bulldogs, and Schuler was still just an assistant.
“It’ll be fun, a familiar face behind the bench, but a brand new team from when we played Harvard two-ish years ago,” Henderson said. “It will be exciting.”