Terry Abram is an American retired ice hockey
defenseman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
and coach who was an
All-American for
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, S ...
.
Career
Abram was a standout defenseman at
South St. Paul HS helping the team reach the state semifinal as a senior. He was one of the few American players recruited to
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, S ...
during the 1960s and began playing for the varsity club in the fall of 1966. In his first two seasons, Abram helped UND win back-to-back
conference co-championships and reach the
NCAA tournament twice. Abram was named an All-American in 1968 and hoped to lead his team into the national championship for a third consecutive season the following year. Unfortunately, North Dakota was upset in the first round of the
WCHA tournament and Abram's college career ended with the loss.
After graduating, Abram turned down a chance to play in the
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
organization and instead turned to coaching. He spent the rest of the decade behind the bench for two different high schools in
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...
,
Roseau
Roseau ( Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau ...
and
Anoka Anoka is the name of several places in the United States:
* Anoka, Indiana, an unincorporated place
* Anoka, Minnesota, a city
**Anoka (Metro Transit station)
** Anoka County, Minnesota
** Anoka-Hennepin School District 11
* Anoka, Nebraska, a vill ...
. While at Roseau, Abram coach future
NHLer Neal Broten
Neal LaMoy Broten (born November 29, 1959) is an American former professional ice hockey player. A member of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid in 1980, Broten was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame in ...
. In 1982 Abram became the head coach for
St. Thomas and he immediately turned around the program. While he was with the program for only five years, Abram provided several first for the Tommies: he was the first coach to win 20 games in a season, recording 25 wins in both 1985 and '86. He led the team to the
NCAA Tournament for the first time in 1984. Two years later he guided St. Thomas to the inaugural
MIAC tournament championship. Abram resigned in 1987, never having a losing season in college hockey.
In 2007 Abram was in the inaugural class of the South St. Paul Athletic Hall of fame.
Statistics
Regular season and playoffs
College head coaching record
Awards and honors
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abram, Terry
1947 births
Living people
American men's ice hockey defensemen
Ice hockey players from Minnesota
People from South St. Paul, Minnesota
Ice hockey people from Dakota County, Minnesota
North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players
St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's ice hockey coaches
AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans