The first ever Champions Hockey League game in the city of Belfast, or indeed on the entire island of Ireland, sees the Giants hosting Bílí Tygři Liberec.

Belfast were awarded a place in the CHL via the Continental Cup, but went on to win the Elite League Regular Season and as such come in as national champions. The off-season was however a difficult one for Head Coach Adam Keefe, with no less than 15 players either leaving the club or retiring from the sport. The re-building has however been complete, and the arrival of former CHL finalist Liam Reddox from Växjö is sure to bring a wealth of experience to their locker room.

Like the Giants, Liberec also won their Regular Season title in the Czech Republic before losing the playoff finals. While turnover at the White Tigers hasn’t been as high, they did lose netminder Roman Will to Sweden and so have two new names between the pipes: Justin Peters from Chomutov, and Marek Schwarz who spent a decent chunk of his career in the EBEL with Znojmo.

Recognisable names from seasons past such as Martin Švec. Dominik Lakatoš and Marek Kvapil have left the club, but in their place have come established players such as Michal Bulír, and younger talents like Daniel Bukač and Adam Musíl.

Liberec know how to do well in this competition, and after a year out will be out to prove their run to the Semi-Finals two seasons ago was no fluke.