KITCHENER -- The Kitchener Rangers will start their OHL season against the Guelph Storm on Oct. 8.
In a tweet, the team said they'll be home in the Aud for that game.
"It's amazing," said Joe Birch, the team's chief operating officer. "Everyone, we, the fans, the community, our players, staff, everyone has been waiting for this day for a long time."
The Ontario Hockey League unveiled its 2021 to 2022 season schedule on Tuesday.
"It’s an exciting time of new beginnings for our League. The OHL continues its tradition of developing the world's best young student athletes and we're very much looking forward to having players back in OHL communities," the OHL Commissioner said in a statement.
"We can scream to our heart's content and just really get behind our home teams like we used to," said Guelph Storm fan Andrew Gowan.
The rivalry matchup between the Kitchener Rangers and the Guelph Storm will kickoff the season.
"That's always a great rivalry between Kitchener and Guelph, that will be awesome on October 8 to be able to play them," said Kitchener Rangers player Jesse Fishman.
It's not clear what capacity limits will look like inside the arena as that will depend on public health restrictions at the time.
"Of course we want to have as many people as possible and our fans have been sitting patiently waiting for games to continue, but safety is important and I'm sure we will get some direction and have some guidelines as we get closer," said Guelph Storm general manager and head coach George Burnett.
The Rangers' chief operating officer Joe Birch says season ticket holders will get priority.
"If we are limited in capacity, those season ticket holders who engaged in that process will get priority to be able to attend the games," he said.
With the return to the ice still months away, training camp is the first priority for players and coaches.
"Our plan is to start our training camp and development camp on the 30th of August," Burnett said.
The Rangers full schedule is available here, along with the schedule for the Storm.
