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Sports Oakville Beaver 19 · Friday, February 8, 2013 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-632-0588 (ext. 294) email sports@oakvillebeaver.com Tigers' Tale: By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLEBEAVERSTAFF How Oakville players, coach have been key in RIT women's hockey team's quick adjustment to Division I scoresheet. Recruited as a forward, she has spent just as much time on the blueline since arriving at RIT. "I played forward mostly growing up," Grigg said. "But when the coach needs me to play D, I can do it. I don't really have a preference; whatever is going to benefit the team." "She's the ultimate team player," McDonald said. "She was usually the leading scorer on her teams but her freshman year, I needed a D who could handle the puck. I asked her about playing defence, and she said, `I just want to play.' When you hear that from her, you know you have a special player." Grigg says it has been a big step joining the Division I ranks. The speed of the game has been the biggest difference she has noticed, as well as the depth of team's lineups -- "there are a lot more skilled girls" she says. Nevertheless, Grigg has continued to contribute. Her 13 points ranks fifth on the team and is the most among underclassmen. McDonald says Grigg, a former captain of the Oakville Hornets of the Provincial Women's Hockey League, has already demonstrated the qualities that could eventually earn her the same role at RIT. "(With) the leadership she has shown at a young age," he said, "I would be surprised if she's not a captain by the time she's done here." That would be one more honour in what Grigg says has already been a great experience at RIT. "Honestly, we've been so lucky," she said. "As a freshman, to have the opportunity to win a national championship and then transition into D1. Then in our senior year, hopefully we're going to have a new rink built. It's hard to beat that." s introductions go, it was more a slap in the face than a handshake and a friendly `Welcome to Division I.' The Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers were coming off a Division III women's hockey championship when it was announced they would be making their long-anticipated move to the NCAA's top ranks. The players trained hard in the offseason, knowing they would face much stiffer competition. Then just 18 seconds into their Division I debut, the Tigers found themselves down 2-0 to the Mercyhurst Lakers. Nine minutes into the game, Oakville's Ali Binnington was summoned from the bench. With RIT already trailing 3-0, she prevented things from getting out of hand, allowing just three goals in the final 51 minutes in a 6-2 loss. The next day, in her first start of the season, Binnington stopped all 10 shots she faced in the opening period before Mercyhurst, currently ranked No. 7 in the country, broke through to hand the Tigers a 7-0 loss. "I think that first weekend woke them up," said RIT coach and Oakville native Scott McDonald. "It showed them they can't take one second off." Since then, RIT has gone 5-2-5 in conference play to sit third in the College Hockey America standings behind Mercyhurst and Syracuse, whose two meetings with the Tigers have gone to overtime. "We didn't want people to think we didn't belong," Binnington said of the team's turnaround. A big reason the Tigers have held their own has been the play of Binnington, who was named the CHA goalie of the month for January after posting a 1.14 goalsagainst average in six games. She bounced back from the opening-weekend losses Scott McDonald against Mercyhurst by posting back-to-back shutouts over Sacred Heart and Yale. Following two more shutouts in January, she now is third in the NCAA with five. The St. Mildred Lightbourn School grad is also among the top 10 in the country with a .928 save percentage. A There might not be a Tiger that had more to prove. Binnington has not only made the jump within the NCAA ranks, but has also made the transition from backup to the team's starter, supplanting Laura Chamberlain, who claimed MVP honours in last year's national championship tournament. Binnington has already played 21 games after totalling just 10 in her freshman season. And as the last line of defence for the Tigers, the spotlight shines brightest on her. She said the increased workload has actually helped keep her sharper this year. "We were a top team so I didn't see many shots. When you only see 10 to 15 shots, it's hard to stay mentally into games," said the sophomore netminder, who turns 20 later this month. "Now I'm seeing upwards of 30 shots and they are a lot higher quality. You have to be on your game the whole time. And the games are closer and more competitive." Binnington's play has not been a surprise to McDonald. "We've had our sights set on Division I," the coach said. "When we recruited her, we thought we were recruiting a Division I goalie and she's proven us right." Another player fitting that bill is Binnington's former minor hockey teammate, Lindsay Grigg. The Holy Trinity grad scored the overtime winner in last year's national semifinal and has continued her knack for big goals, scoring late in the third period of a pivotal 2-1 win over defending CHA champion Robert Morris University in January. But Grigg's value goes far beyond the Oakville residents Ali Binnington (top photo) and Lindsay Grigg (right) have helped the Rochester Institute of Technology women's hockey team be competitive in the school's first season at the Division I level. PHOTOS BY DYLAN HEUER / COURTESY ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY