Pittis to be inducted into Amerks Hall of Fame this weekend
Friday's game will be televised locally on MSG
by Rochester Americans @AmerksHockey / Amerks.com
The Rochester Americans will induct forward Domenic Pittis into the Amerks Hall of Fame as the Class of 2020. Pittis was unanimously selected for induction by the Amerks Hall of Fame Committee and will take his rightful place in the prestigious club on Friday when Rochester hosts the Syracuse Crunch at 7:05 p.m. at The Blue Cross Arena on Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino Legends Night.
Set to become the 65th member of the exclusive club, Pittis quickly evolved into one of the franchise's most prolific scorers during his three seasons in Rochester, reaching the 20-goal mark twice and recording at least 65 points on all three occasions.
In 204 career games with the Amerks, Pittis produced 246 points, placing him among the top 20 forwards all-time in franchise history, and ranking 17th all-time with 171 assists.
He also added 70 points (16+54) in 57 postseason appearances while leading the Amerks to the playoffs in each of his three seasons, including back-to-back trips to the Calder Cup Finals in 1999 and 2000.
A year after breaking into the American Hockey League with the Syracuse Crunch, Pittis joined the Amerks for the 1998-99 campaign and assembled what would be his best season over his 19-year pro career.
In 76 games with the Amerks, Pittis amassed an AHL-best 104 points on 38 goals and 66 assists, winning the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the League's top point-getter during the regular season while helping the Amerks to a franchise record 52 wins during the regular season. Rochester also set an AHL record for the fewest goals allowed with 176.
Pittis became just the sixth different player in team history to earn the honors and first to lead the AHL in scoring since Paul Gardner put up 112 points during the 1985-86 season. It was also the last 100-point performance by an Amerk in recent years.
Faceoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. and the game will be carried live on MSG and AHLTV starting at 7. Catch the radio call on The Sports Leader AM 950/95.7 FM ESPN Rochester.
Scoring leaders
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Jean-Sebastian Dea | 41 | 13 | 17 | 30 |
| 2. Zach Redmond | 40 | 5 | 21 | 26 |
| 3. Andrew Oglevie | 36 | 13 | 10 | 23 |
| 4. Lawrence Pilut* | 30 | 6 | 16 | 22 |
| Kevin Porter | 34 | 6 | 16 | 22 |
| *Recalled to Buffalo (NHL) |
Goaltending leaders
| Player | GP | W | L | OTL | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonas Johansson | 20 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 2.19 | .925 | 2 |
| Andrew Hammond | 24 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 2.64 | .901 | 4 |
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen* | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3.38 | .887 | 0 |
| *Assigned to Cincinnati (ECHL) |
Jonas Johansson and Chris Taylor at the AHL All-Star Classic
News and notes
Rochester has won three games in a row and is within four points of first place in the AHL's North Division standings while holding two games in hand against the top-seeded Belleville Senators.
The home-and-home series between the Amerks and Crunch concludes on Friday after the annual AHL All-Star break. All five head-to-head matchups have been decided by one goal.