Toronto, ON. - The Toronto Patriots will not have to wait long for at least a tiny modicum of revenge.

The Pats are set to open both the exhibition and regular season schedules against the Burlington Cougars, the team that beat the upstart Torontonians out in a hard-fought Round 1 post-season series a year ago.

Although the coaching staff is brand new for this campaign, with the off-season hiring of John Dean and Mike Daley, the Pats may return as many as 16 players on Sept. 8, the date the Pats head to Burlington's Appleby Arena to open the regular season.

Buffalo's HarborCenter, the magnificent home of the OJHL's Junior Sabres, as well as the Canisius College Golden Gryphons, will again host the league-wide Governor's Showcase event Sept. 19-21. Toronto will take on the Stouffville Spirit, the North Division's runner-up from a year ago, on the Tuesday, before saving themselves a long regular-season trip on Wednesday, battling the Kingston Voyageurs in a rematch of the 2014-15 Buckland Cup Final.

The Pats will not have to wait long to test themselves against the defending Buckland Cup champions, as head coach Greg Walters and his Georgetown Raiders visit Westwood Arena on Oct. 7. Toronto will get a big late-season test on Feb. 16, the date that they will travel to Trenton to face the defending Dudley Hewitt Cup (Canadian Junior 'A' Hockey's Central Region) champion Golden Hawks.

Dean, who spent 10 years in the North York Rangers organization between 2008 and 2017, will get his first crack at his old club on Oct. 1 at the hallowed halls of the Herb Carnegie Centennial Arena in North York. Daley will first see his old club, the Oakville Blades, at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville on Oct. 14. - Jamie Neugebauer

Click here for the Pats' 2017-18 Exhibition Schedule

Click here for the Pats' 2017-18 Regular Season Schedule