| Connie Pleban | |
| Birth Date: | 24 April 1914 |
| Birth Place: | Eveleth, Minnesota |
| Death Place: | Duluth, Minnesota |
| Alma Mater: | Eveleth Junior College |
| Player Years1: | 1932–1934 |
| Player Team1: | Eveleth Junior College |
| Player Years2: | 1934–1938 |
| Player Team2: | Eagle River Falcons |
| Player Years3: | 1938–1941 |
| Player Team3: | Eveleth Rangers |
| Player Years4: | 1941–1942 |
| Player Team4: | Marquette Sentinels |
| Player Years5: | 1947–1948 |
| Player Team5: | Eveleth Rangers |
| Player Years6: | 1950 |
| Player Team6: | Team USA |
| Coach Years1: | 1934–1938 |
| Coach Team1: | Eagle River Falcons |
| Coach Years2: | 1938–1941 |
| Coach Team2: | Eveleth Rangers |
| Coach Years3: | 1941–1942 |
| Coach Team3: | Marquette Sentinels |
| Coach Years4: | 1947–1948 |
| Coach Team4: | Eveleth Rangers |
| Coach Years5: | 1950 |
| Coach Team5: | Team USA |
| Coach Years6: | 1952 |
| Coach Team6: | Team USA |
| Coach Years7: | 1955–1959 |
| Coach Team7: | Minnesota–Duluth |
| Coach Years8: | 1961–1962 |
| Coach Team8: | Team USA |
| Admin Years1: | 1950 |
| Admin Team1: | Team USA (Manager) |
| Overall Record: | 56–25–5 |
| Championships: | 1956 MIAC Champion 1957 MIAC Champion 1958 MIAC Champion 1959 MIAC Champion |
| Awards: | 1990 United States Hockey Hall of Fame 1992 Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award |
John E. "Connie" Pleban was an ice hockey player and head coach who led Team USA to three medal finishes at international competitions.[1]
Pleban was a graduate of Eveleth High School in 1932 and continued his education at Eveleth Junior College. While there, Pleban was a member of the 1934 team that won an intercollegiate championship.[2] After graduating, he became the player/coach for several teams and continued working in that capacity until 1942. After the United States entered World War II, Pleban entered the military and served until the end of the war.[3]
In 1950, Pleban joined the US National Team as a player, coach and manager for the 1950 World Championships, and led the team to a silver medal. He retired as a player following the tournament but repeated the coaching feat two years later at the 1952 Winter Olympics. In 1955, Pleban was named head coach at Minnesota–Duluth and helped the program begin to transition to the top level of college hockey. He led the Bulldogs to the MIAC championship in each of his 4 years with the program, never losing a single conference game.[4]
Pleban returned to Team USA in 1961 but couldn't get the defending Olympic gold medalists to find much success. Finishing with a 1–5–1 record, it was one of the program's poorest records, but Pleban was allowed to remain as coach and produced a far better result the following year. The US went 5–2 and ended up with the bronze medal. Afterwards, Pleban continued to work in the Duluth area, organizing amateur hockey throughout the 1960s and 70's.
He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990 and was the recipient of the Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award in 1992.
Note: GC = Games coached, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against
| Year | Team | Competition | Finish | GC | W | L | T | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 20 | |||||
| 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 21 | |||||
| 6th | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 24 | 43 | ||||
| 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 23 |