A busy, busy Thursday . . .

The Tri-City Americans have signed head coach Don Nachbaur to a one-year contract extension that will take him through 2009-10. Ironically, the Americans made the announcement while Nachbaur was in Swift Current with the WHL team that was playing a touring Russian side in the ADT Challenge. In Nachbaur’s absence, assistant coach Terry Virtue ran the bench in Wednesday’s 2-1 victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips. . . . Nachbaur will be back for Friday’s game against the visiting Spokane Chiefs. He goes into that game with 399 WHL coaching victories, 197 of them with the Americans and the remainder with the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Nachbaur is the reigning WHL coach of the year after guiding the Americans to the league’s best regular-season record. The Kamloops Blazers actually explored the possibility of hiring him over the summer but weren’t able to get permission to speak with him as he had one year left on his contract.
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The Kamloops Blazers and Prince Albert Raiders swapped 18-year-old defencemen on Wednesday. Jordan Rowley heads for the Raiders, with Zac Stebner joining the Blazers. The Raiders are hoping that Rowley, the 26th pick in the 2002005 bantam draft, can add some offence to their back end and also spark their power play. The Blazers are looking for some physical play in their zone from Stebner, the 32nd pick in that same draft. He was drafted by the Red Deer Rebels and was sent to the Raiders last season for G David Aime.
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The WHL whipped a touring Russian side 5-0 in Swift Current on Wednesday night in the fifth game of this season’s ADT Challenge. RW Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats scored a couple of PP goals and set up another for the WHL, which was 4-for-8 with the extra man. “It was fun being on the opposite side,” Eberle told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “They have a good atmosphere here and they love their hockey so it was kind of nice. I know they probably hate me and (Pats defenceman Colten Teubert) a lot but we’re on the right team tonight. They definitely supported us.” . . . Eberle was on a line with Brandon Wheat Kings forwards Matt Calvert and Brayden Schenn. . . . G Chet Pickard of the Tri-City Americans stopped 16 shots. . . . The WHL’s other goals came from Zach Boychuk (Lethbridge Hurricanes), Tyler Ennis (Medicine Hat Tigers) and Calvert. D Thomas Hickey of the Seattle Thunderbirds had three assists. . . . The WHL is 12-1 against Russia in this series. This season’s version concludes Thursday night in Prince Albert.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds are getting closer to moving into their new arena — the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash. The Thunderbirds announced Wednesday that single-game tickets for games in the new digs will go on sale Dec. 3. Tickets for games scheduled for Jan. 4 through March 15 will be available off the Thunderbirds’ website on Dec. 3 at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Single-game tickets for games scheduled for Dec. 27, 28, 30 and Jan. 3 will go on sale Dec. 10 at 9 a.m. Be aware, however, that a location for the latter four games has yet to be announced. That announcement is anticipated sometime in the next two weeks. . . . Note, too, that single-game ducats will only be available online through Dec. 16. It is expected that the ShoWare Center box office will be open by Dec. 16. The Thunderbirds also will take phone orders after that date. . . . If you’re wondering, single-game tickets prices will remain the same — $22. There also will be single-game family zone tickets ($16 for adults, $12 for children 12 and under) available. . . . A limited number of club seats may be available, at $40 a pop. . . . You can expect a service fee on top of those prices.
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JUST NOTES: RW Scott Glennie of the Brandon Wheat Kings is the Boston Pizza CHL player of the week. He had eight points over three games. . . . The Brandon Sun points out that Wheat Kings D Mark Schneider has scored goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his WHL career. Brandon acquired Schneider, 18, from the Kamloops Blazers for a draft pick earlier this season. . . . The Sun also reports that former Wheat Kings RW Mark Derlago, 22, has been recalled by the AHL’s Manitoba Moose from the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Derlago has 20 points, including 11 goals, in 12 games with the Condors. . . . Sweden has named its roster for the 2009 World Junior tournament. You can read about it right here.
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Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun has reported that the Edmonton Oilers are scouting out locations for an AHL franchise. They presently run the Springfield Falcons and have a deal with them through 2009-10. Edmonton officials were in Oklahoma City last week. The Oklahoma City Blazers consistently lead the Central league in attendance or is close to the top. Doug Sauter, a veteran of the WHL wars as a player, GM and head coach, runs the Blazers. . . . The Falcons are coached by Jeff Truitt, who moved there from the Kelowna Rockets.
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In Wednesday’s only game, the host Tri-City Americans got two goals from captain Taylor Procyshen as they beat the Everett Silvertips, 2-1. . . . Freshman G Drew Owsley stopped 13 shots for the Americans in running his record to 4-0-0-0. . . . The Ams are 10-1-0-0 at home with the Spokane Chiefs coming to town on Friday and the Vancouver Giants on Saturday. . . . Tri-City assistant coach Terry Virtue ran the bench with head coach Don Nachbaur in Swift Current with Team WHL. . . . Procyshen, 20, has 161 career points and is tied for 23rd place on the team’s all-time list, with Darrell Hay, the son of Vancouver head coach Don Hay, and Ken McKay.
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The CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top 10 for Week 11, as selected by a panel of NHL scouts (team, record, last week, weeks in rankings):
1. Windsor Spitfires (22-2-0-0) 1 11
2. Shawinigan Cataractes (22-4-0-0) 2 8
3. Calgary Hitmen (22-4-1-0) 4 6
4. Vancouver Giants (20-1-0-3) 5 9
5. Moncton Wildcats (19-2-2-1) 3 10
6. London Knights (19-5-0-1) 6 8
7. Brampton Battalion (18-6-0-0) 7 3
8. Drummondville Voltigeurs (19-4-0-2) 9 7
9. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (19-6-1-0) — 7
10. Medicine Hat Tigers (16-7-2-3) — 1
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DYNAMITER UPDATE: OK. We have established that the Kimberley Dynamiters have the greatest nickname in hockey today. For the uninitiated, the Dynamiters are a junior B team that plays in the Kootnenay International Junior Hockey League. . . . The latest news out of the Dynamiters camp has F Sam Mellor, who turned 16 on Nov. 21, having made a commitment to the U of Alaska/Anchorage. He has 14 points, four of them goals, in 21 games. . . . The Dynamiters are 9-11-2 and in fifth place in the Eddie Mountain Division of the Kootenay Conference.
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If you’re a fan of the Kelowna Rockets, you will want to check out this feature, written by Glen Erickson, that appears on the Hockey’s future website. It’s an interesting look at Kelowna D Tyson Barrie, some of which focuses on the relationship between him and his father, Len, who owns a chunk of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. Erickson’s story is right here.