Courtesy Washington Times

(January 22, 2009) The score is tied 1-1 late in a tense game against the Boston Bruins when a Washington Capitals right wing gets loose with the puck. Joe Beninati, standing six stories above the Verizon Center ice, takes note. His face becomes tense. His voice rises.

And with a dramatic slap-shot goal comes the call:

"Alexander Semin... with a BUZZ... BOMB!"

Another big moment for the Caps, who hang on to win 2-1. And another rousing call from Beninati, who has seen more than his share of dramatic wins and tough losses in his 14 years as the team's play-by-play man on Comcast SportsNet.

On this night, Beninati is in the middle of a stretch of six hockey games in a week's span and is looking forward to a few days off for the All-Star break. But first he must focus on making his way to New York for a game at Nassau Coliseum in 36 hours.

He is not tired.

"I'm pumped up right now," the 43-year-old Beninati says, his blue pinstripe suit still sharply pressed and his small suitcase in tow. "You talk to the players, and they will tell you about that adrenaline rush. I get a little bit of that."

The rush from a Caps victory has been commonplace over the last two years as the team has surged from NHL bottom feeder to playoff contender. And as the Caps' fortunes have risen, so too has Beninati's national profile. In addition to working more than 70 Caps games on Comcast SportsNet, he also works nearly two dozen nationally televised NHL games on the Versus cable network, where he is the No.2 play-by-play announcer behind Mike Emrick. He is the voice of Pac-10 and Mountain West college football on Versus, and during the summer he broadcasts ESPN's weekly Major League Lacrosse games.

"I've always wanted to have that kind of versatility," Beninati says, adjusting his bright purple tie. "In the last four to five years I've done eight different sports. I wanted to have that flexibility, and I didn't want to be just a one-sport announcer. I think it always helps at a network level to do more than one sport well. They're more apt to call upon you."

Working Caps hockey, however, remains his core duty. Beninati has been with Comcast SportsNet and its predecessor networks since 1994, most of the time alongside analyst and former Caps ring wing Craig Laughlin and Comcast producer and director Bill Bell, who rave about his work ethic, attention to detail and his passion for hockey.