Scary situation for hard nosed coach

• I knew Don Nachbaur was a hard nosed coach. What I didn't know was the Spokane Chiefs head skipper has a hard head. No seriously, he does, with a high pain tolerance to match. In what can only be described as a scary incident in the second period of Friday's 5-4 overtime win over the the Kelowna Rockets, Nachbaur was struck in the head by a puck that came rocketing off the stick of defenceman Cal Foote. I've seen coaches or players struck, unexpectedly, on the bench by a puck before, but with no-where near that much velocity. Foote, essentially at his own blue line and arguably less than 12 feet from the Chiefs bench, ripped a slap shot at the right boards in an attempt to send the puck all the way down the ice. The puck did not strike the boards though. The galvanized piece of rubber went straight for the Chiefs head coach, who had little, if no time to react. Fortunately, and if you are a religious man - by the grace of God - he wasn't more seriously hurt as the puck struck Nachbaur. Expectantly, Nachbaur went down quickly only to rise to his feet with a trainer holding a towel in an effort to slow the bleeding. With everyone amazed that the 58 year-old was walking towards the trainers table for stitches and not being carried off on a stretcher after what they just saw, it came as an even a greater surprise that Nachbaur returned to the bench for the start of the third period. While the coach was as tough as nails as a player (watch the video) when he was with the Flyers, I am still amazed that, outside of some blood and a puck sized lump on his head, the coach was able to walk away from a scary situation with a story both he, I and those that watched in horror will not soon forget. Thankfully, Don Nachbaur, one of the winningest coaches in the WHL is ok.