Joe Beninati

Joseph Edward "Joe" Beninati (born November 14, 1965 in Long Island, New York) is the television play-by-play announcer for the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals. Along with color analyst Craig Laughlin he provides Capitals game coverage for Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. He has also done freelance announcing for ESPN, Westwood One, WFAN and as a prominent hockey voice on Versus (formerly OLN and now the NBC Sports Network). He is also the play-by-play voice of Versus' coverage of Mountain West Conference football. Before his time with CSN Washington and the Capitals he covered the AHL system of the Boston Bruins for both the Maine Mariners and the Providence Bruins; he also does play-by-play on CSN Mid Atlantic for the Chesapeake Bayhawks of the MLL.

Biography

He grew up on Long Island, listening to Marv Albert broadcasting Knicks and Rangers games. Beninati attended Bowdoin College,[1] where he still holds the school record for saves in a season (263) by a lacrosse goaltender.[2]

He started broadcasting when he was injured playing hockey and some friends talked him into appearing on the school's radio station. The following year he began doing play-by-play of local high school events. He later served as a sports information director.[1]

Out of college, he was hired to broadcast American Hockey League games, where he rode buses for 5 years. In 1994, he was hired as the play-by-play annnouncer for the Washington Capitals.[1]

In addition to ice hockey coverage, he has provided play-by-play for various ACC and CAA sporting events, Navy football, the Washington Mystics, Major League Lacrosse on ESPN, and the 2002 Winter Olympics and 2006 Winter Olympics hockey tournaments for Westwood One.

He has also filled in for coverage of the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Wizards. Beninati has also found his way behind the in-arena mic, as he subbed as the voice of the Washington Kastles for one match during their third consecutive World Team Tennis championship season in 2013. He called the playoff match against the Boston Lobsters.

His allegiance to lacrosse didn't stop with college as he has called numerous lacrosse events over the years including the Chesapeake Bayhawks vs Boston Cannons every year and was the man on the mic for the 2013 Major League Lacrosse championship match in which Chesapeake downed the Charlotte Hounds 10-9.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shapiro, Leonard (2008-10-21). "Beninati, Laughlin Put the 'Biscuit in the Basket'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  2. ↑ "Men's Lacrosse Record Book'". Bowdoin College. Retrieved 2013-05-08.

External links