Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame Announces 2020 Class

GLENS FALLS, NY – Sylvain Cloutier, Frank Littlejohn, Dan Miner and the late H.  Douglas “Doug” Burch have been elected to the Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame as the class of 2020. Former players Cloutier and Littlejohn had long careers with Glens Falls-based pro teams, while Miner and Burch were selected as “builders” for their off-ice contributions to the growth of hockey in the region.  The quartet was chosen by the AHHOF selection committee, with the help of a vote by fans on an online ballot.The inductees will be formally welcomed into the AHHOF during the Adirondack Thunder’s game vs. the Maine Mariners on Saturday, February 22nd, 2020 at Cool Insuring Arena.The AHHOF Class of 2020: The Players: Sylvain Cloutier – During his long, globe-trotting professional career, Cloutier played for three Adirondack teams, the Red Wings in the American Hockey League and the IceHawks and Frostbite of the United Hockey League. Cloutier played a total of 461 games for Glens Falls-based teams, second only to Glenn Merkosky’s 494. His 287 games with the Red Wings puts him 10th on the franchise’s career list. A native of Mont-Laurier QC, Cloutier played in 565 AHL games and recorded 274 points (86 goals, 188 assists) during his career. He started his pro career in Glens Falls and compiled 148 points with the Red Wings. Frank Littlejohn – Littlejohn played in Glens Falls for five seasons: four with the Adirondack IceHawks and one with the Adirondack Frostbite, both in the UHL. In his 328 regular-season and playoff games for Adirondack he registered 144 goals and 257 points. The Oshawa, ON native played 15 AHL games, 89 ECHL games, 67 IHL games and 478 UHL games. Littlejohn recorded 222 goals and 157 assists in his 478 UHL games which also saw him gather 1,688 penalty minutes. While playing for the IceHawks, Littlejohn racked up 1,051 penalty minutes, including a career high 306 PIMs in 2002-03.  The Builders: H. Douglas “Doug” Burch – For more than 40 years, Burch played an important role in the development and growth of hockey in the Capital Region and the Adirondacks.Burch was a member of the management team that Ned Harkness formed to lay the groundwork for the highly successful launch of the Adirondack Red Wings in the American Hockey League in 1979. He was the student manager of Harkness’ hockey team at Union College in Schenectady and followed his mentor to Glens Falls, where he began his professional hockey career as the Director of Public Relations and Marketing. He wore many hats in those critical early years of the Adirondack franchise and was deeply involved in sales and the day-to-day operations of the hockey teamIn 1982, Burch moved to Lake Placid with Harkness, where he became the Vice President of Corporate Marketing for the Olympic Regional Development Authority. After more than a decade with ORDA, Burch returned to the AHL in 1993 as the president of the Albany River Rats, a position he held until 1998. In 1995, the year the River Rats won the Calder Cup, Burch was named winner of the James C. Hendy Memorial Award, given to the executive who has made the most outstanding contribution to the American Hockey League.Burch later returned to Glens Falls and served as the executive director of the Tri-County United Way. He was very active in the community, successfully pushed for the creation of the Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame, which he chaired, and served on the board of directors of the Glens Falls Civic Center Foundation from 2002 until his death in 2018. Dan Miner – Since 1985, Miner has been involved with every one of the professional hockey teams that have called Glens Falls home. He began his long run as a radio reporter and has been the public address announcer at the arena since 1999. A 1983 graduate of Whitehall High School and a 1985 graduate of SUNY Adirondack, Miner started covering the Red Wings the year he earned his college degree at WIPS/WXTY in Ticonderoga. In 1991, he shifted to WENU/WSTL in Queensbury, while still covering the Red Wings. A year later, Miner started the first weekly hockey show “Red Wings Wrap”, the same year he became the In-Arena Host for the team.Miner was named the public address announcer for the Adirondack IceHawks in 1999 and still continues his PA duties for the Adirondack Thunder. He started a Monday night hockey radio program about the IceHawks on WCKM that has transitioned into what is now known as “On Center Ice.” He retired from hosting that program at the end of the 2018-19 season.

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