Lake Worth native Brittany Bugalski, a hockey goalie at Northeastern, will be part of historic game in Ireland

Sitting at a random table with one of the top female goalies in the world and a prominent women’s college hockey coach, Brittany Bugalski was in awe.

But first, the high school freshman and Lake Worth native had to figure out who they were.

During a trip to the 2012 women’s Frozen Four at Minnesota Duluth — which she attended with her father, Mark Bugalski — Brittany got seated with Northeastern University goalie Florence Schelling and Huskies coach Dave Flint at the Patty Kazmaier brunch.

“It was pretty crazy, actually,” Bugalski said of her encounter with Schelling, a Swiss Olympic goalie and a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, given annually to college hockey’s top female player.

“At the time, I wasn’t too familiar with Northeastern hockey. My dad and I had no idea that (Schelling) was even a nominee for the award. We thought coach Flint was her dad.”

After a little while, Bugalski, a goalie at Loomis Chaffee prep school in Windsor, Conn., realized the importance of her company.

“We started talking to Florence about her playing career,” Bugalski said last week via phone from the Bahamas, where she was vacationing with family. “That’s how I learned about Northeastern women’s hockey.”

A year later — now one of the nation’s top prep goalies — Bugalski arranged a trip to Boston, Mass., to visit Flint’s rising Northeastern program. Falling in love with the college immediately, she later committed to the Huskies.

“I really do think it was fate,” Bugalski, 21, said of her experience at the 2012 brunch. “I still don’t understand how we ended up at a table with an award nominee. There were so many other tables.”

Whatever the reason, Bugalski is grateful. She’s now a senior captain at Northeastern and one of the program’s most accomplished goalies, sitting third on the all-time career wins list with 55.

Bugalski and the Huskies (13-2-2), ranked No. 3 in the nation, will make history when they travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland to play the first-ever NCAA Division I women’s hockey games outside North America.

Northeastern, last year’s Hockey East conference champion, faces fifth-ranked Clarkson, the defending NCAA champion, in the Ulster University Friendship Series on Jan. 5-6 in Belfast.

“One of my goals has been to bring women’s hockey to markets that don’t normally get exposed to it,” Flint said last week. “I think it’s going to be exciting and eye-opening for the people of Belfast.”

Bugalski — who grew up a Florida Panthers fan and started playing hockey when she was 8 for her younger brother Brent’s rec league team — will be a main attraction in Ireland. In eight starts this season, she’s posted a 2.35 goals-against average and .908 save percentage.

“Brittany has played a huge part in our success the last three and a half years,” Flint said. “She’s really emerged as a leader. She has the respect of her teammates and coaches, which has been so valuable for us.”

As her final college season winds down, Bugalski has begun reflecting on her memories and hockey achievements with the Huskies — none of which may have been possible without the 2012 chance meeting with Schelling and Flint.

“Coach didn’t even know who I was, and I was sitting at his table,” recalled Bugalski, whose parents now live in Boynton Beach. “It was just a coincidence being there. It was a great choice I ended up going to Northeastern.”

Flint, like his standout goalie, will never forget their initial meeting.

“All of a sudden, there’s a kid sitting at our table with her dad,” Flint said. “We were like, ‘Who are you? What are you doing here?’ She said, ‘Oh, I’m a goalie. I’m from Florida.’”