Vancouver Giants will return to the ice on Oct. 8, hosting the Prince George Cougars for their 2021-22 season home opener, the Langley-based team announced on Wednesday, June 16.

It will mark the first Giants regular season home game at the Langley Events centre since February 28, 2020.

Giants have a 2-0 record in home openers against the Cougars.

By then, the Western Hockey League (WHL) anticipates the games will be played with “full-capacity” audiences allowed.

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Word of the Giants season schedule was released following the Tuesday, June 15 announcement by the WHL that the new season would begin Oct. 1.

Based on the re-opening plans already announced, and the expected lifting of restrictions by health authorities, the league said it expects all clubs will be permitted to open the season at full spectator capacity.

In making the announcement at the league annual general meeting , the WHL also unveiled a new playoff format for the 2022 WHL Playoffs.

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A 68-game schedule with “full capacity in a fan-friendly and safe environment” is planned, but with no interlocking games between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference.

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Giants and other B.C. teams played in a limited season with no spectators under a “hub” city agreement with provincial health authorities that wrapped up in May.

Play was limited to a pair of cities, with the Giants playing 18 games in Kamloops and six in Kelowna.

They ended their season with a 6-1 win over the Victoria Royals in Kamloops on May 11, a few days after dropping a 3-1 decision to Kamloops, a game that clinched the 2020-21 B.C. Division banner for the Blazers.

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