Outdoor college hockey is skating back into Uptown Charlotte this season, with Truist Field set to host four games as part of the 704 Outdoor Faceoff. The slate kicks off in November with South Carolina facing Virginia Tech and Charlotte taking on Appalachian State, before a second round of matchups in January pits North Carolina against Wake Forest and NC State against Liberty.
According to oursportscentral.com, the event is described as “a series that will feature four college hockey games played under the lights at beautiful Truist Field.” The first weekend opens Friday, November 20, with South Carolina and Virginia Tech, with puck drop set for 7:30 p.m. and gates opening at 6:30 p.m., per the same release.
Charlotte-App State Rivalry Renews Saturday
The following night, Saturday, November 21, brings a rematch of last year's showdown between Charlotte and Appalachian State, according to the release. It's a continuation of a rivalry that has become a centerpiece of the event: Charlotte beat App State 5-4 in 2025, a result confirmed by the seed reporting from Queen City News. This marks the fifth straight year Charlotte has skated in the event, the release notes.
Charlotte's history with outdoor hockey at Truist Field stretches back to the program's first-ever outdoor game there on November 19, 2022, according to Inside UNC Charlotte. The event has since been rebranded as the 704 Outdoor Faceoff, presented by the Charlotte Knights and the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League, the university's own coverage states.
January Doubleheader Adds Two More Rivalries
The second set of games arrives in the new year, with North Carolina facing off against Wake Forest on Friday, January 8, and NC State battling Liberty the following night on Saturday, January 9, according to the release from oursportscentral.com. Both of those January contests are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., with Truist Field's gates opening at 6:30 p.m., the same release confirms.
As of the release's publication, tickets for all four 704 Outdoor Faceoff games were available. Earlier coverage from Queen City News had described a larger slate for the Charlotte program's prior edition, reporting that “this is the fourth straight year the 49ers are in the event, and the third time against the Mountaineers,” with that series tied 1-1 at the time — a detail that places this season's rematch in the context of an ongoing rivalry rather than a first meeting.
Outdoor Hockey Has Drawn Big Crowds Before
Truist Field's outdoor hockey tradition has built some sizable attendance numbers in past seasons. The 2024 Queen City Outdoor Classic at the ballpark drew 11,031 fans on January 13, according to the Charlotte Knights, which also reported that season's four-game slate included club teams from Duke, Vanderbilt, UNC Charlotte, Appalachian State, NC State, South Carolina, UNC and Virginia Tech.
More recently, the NC State Icepack hosted Alabama at Truist Field on November 15, 2025, as part of the 704 Outdoor Faceoff, per the team's own site, NC State Icepack. Ticket prices for that NC State-Alabama Outdoor Classic ranged between $23.95 and $66.85, according to WRAL.
Charlotte Knights have handled information and ticket access for the event, per Queen City News reporting on the current season's matchups. For hockey fans across the Carolinas, the return of outdoor games at Truist Field offers another chance to watch college rivalries play out under the lights of an Uptown ballpark more typically known for baseball.
