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Day Four Friendship Four - Belfast, northern Ireland

The University of Maine men's hockey team took a chance today to tour the great host city of the Friendship Four Tournament: Belfast, Northern Ireland. The team hopped on the bus after breakfast and drove through town while the tour guide narrated the journey. The bus drove past places like the Christmas Market, City Hall, and the Belfast Murals - paintings on the side of buildings and fences that depict the storied past of the city - and the team learned of how deep the connections and factions go, through personal stories from the tour guide.

The bus drove through the separation barriers - left over from the years of strife between Catholics and Protestants - and drove the length of one of the walls. Here, the bus stopped and the team disembarked to take in the murals and thousands of signatures on the wall before adding their own.

After a quick drive by Queen's College, it was off to SSE Arena for practice. During the tour, the team learned about how SSE Arena has brought the two communities together. When fans go to SSE Arena, there is no religion, no emblems, no class, etc. Just hockey. It's one reason why this weekend and this tournament is so special.

Post practice, the team hustled back to the hotel before heading to the Titanic Belfast to tour the monument and enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner with all four teams - Maine, Providence, Clarkson RPI - and their respective traveling parties. Maine's cheer when the team was announced - by far - the largest, reiterating just how great the friends, fans and family members involved with Maine hockey are.

The Titanic Belfast building stands 126' tall - the same height as the ill-fated Titanic's hull.

Happy Thanksgiving Black Bear Nation!

-UMaine-

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