Long Island University men's hockey to host Empire State Holiday Invitational at UBS Arena in December
LIU defenseman Trent Powell (2) and forward Daniel Baldassarra (9) celebrate with teammates on the bench after a goal against Saint Anselm on Jan. 4, 2025. Credit: AP
The Long Island University men’s hockey season begins this weekend, but the anticipation for a pair of games three months from now is already palpable.
As part of its strategic partnership with the Islanders and UBS Arena, LIU will host the inaugural Empire State Holiday Invitational – a four-team tournament also featuring Army, Ferris State and St. Lawrence – on Dec. 28-29 at UBS Arena. The Sharks will face Army at 7 p.m. on Dec. 28, then either Ferris State or St. Lawrence on Dec. 29.
“We are really, really excited,” LIU coach Brendan Riley told Newsday. “It feels like a long time coming. It's something that we started working on early last season, and it was a pipe dream. And then, with the partnership of the Islanders and UBS and LIU, everything kind of came to fruition. We were lucky enough to find three other teams available on the same weekend. It came together really quick, so we are really excited. It's going to be an awesome event.”
The tournament comes with deep personal ties for Riley, who grew up at West Point. His brother Jack is an assistant coach at Army, and his grandfather, father and uncle each were long-time Army head coaches. His cousin Brett is Ferris State’s head coach. And Greg Gardner, his former assistant coach when he played at Mercyhurst, is an assistant at St. Lawrence.
“A lot of bragging rights on the line,” he said.
Riley grew up a big Army hockey fan, and he said “it’s something that I still can't really turn off.” He recognized that his parents probably won’t root for LIU against Army, but he can deal with “one game a year where that’s the case.”
On Sept. 22, Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky visited the LIU Post campus and was interviewed by LIU alum Alan Hahn of ESPN NY Radio and MSG Networks. Ledecky, who was named LIU’s honorary captain, mentioned how he walks around UBS Arena during games and warmups and said it “would make my day” to have people who were at the LIU event greet him.
Well, during last Friday’s Islanders vs. Rangers preseason game, Riley said, two LIU players were there and spotted Ledecky, who welcomed them into his box for the game.
“For our guys' experience here at LIU to be able to have one-on-one conversations with an NHL owner, that's not something that happens every day,” Riley said.
The Sharks open their season at 8 p.m. Friday at No. 6 Minnesota Duluth. Riley said the Sharks are led by goaltender Daniel Duris, whom he called “our backbone,” center J.R. Perdion and defenseman Nate Benoit, a Minnesota Wild draft pick in 2021.
“Hockey on Long Island is kind of booming, whether it's the players coming out of the area, the amount of youth kids playing it nowadays,” Riley said. “To host a Division I tournament on the Island is going to be something really, really special. Obviously, right after the holiday, we're hoping to get a lot of the youth kids to show up and obviously support.”
Tickets, which will range from $10 to $30, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
