Sophomore goaltender Ali Binnington (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) of the RIT women’s hockey team earned 2013 CoSIDA/Capital One At-Large Third Team Academic All-American honors, announced on Friday, June 7. Binnington, a finance major, has a perfect 4.0 grade-point average. She is the second women’s hockey goaltender in the last two years to earn Academic All-American honors (Laura Chamberlain (Norco, CA/LA Selects), 2012).
Binnington enjoyed an excellent sophomore season for RIT in 2012-13, appearing in 28 games, recording an 11-10-4 record. She finished among the national leaders with a 1.93 goals against average (13th nationally) and .928 save percentage (tied for ninth nationally). She also recorded six shutouts, tied for third in all of Division I. Binnington was the College Hockey America Goaltender of the Month in January and was a four-time Goaltender of the Week selection.
In 26 games, Binnington allowed two goals or less 19 times. She made a career-high 43 saves in the CHA Semifinal against Syracuse and stopped at least 25 shots in a game 11 times. From Dec. 15 to the end of the season, Binnington recorded a microscopic 1.56 goals against average and .942 save percentage over the final 17 games. She recorded shutouts against Yale, Brown, Robert Morris, Penn State, and two versus Sacred Heart.
For her career, Binnington is 21-10-4 with a 1.67 goals against average, .930 save percentage, and eight shutouts. Last season, she was 10-0-0 with a 0.95 goals against average and .942 save percentage in helping RIT win the 2012 NCAA Division III National Championship.
The Tigers enjoyed a tremendous first season at the Division I level in 2012-13, finishing with a .500 record (16-16-1) and advancing to the semifinals of the College Hockey America Postseason Tournament. RIT finished tied for third in the CHA standings and won its first two postseason contests as a Division I program.
