April 23, 2009

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey today announced that Matt Caracappa (Randolph, N.J.) has been named the recipient of the 2009-10 Brian Fishman Internship. Caracappa will work in the media and public relations department at USA Hockey’s national office in Colorado Springs, Colo., beginning in June.

“I’m honored to be selected as the next Brian Fishman Intern,” Caracappa said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to work in hockey, and I’d like to thank USA Hockey and the Fishman family for giving me this great opportunity to grow both professionally and personally.”

The Brian Fishman Internship is awarded annually to an outstanding college graduate pursuing a career in athletic media relations. It was established in 1999 in honor of the late Brian Fishman, who served as the manager of communications and marketing for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. He died unexpectedly on Jan. 7, 1999 at age 28.

Caracappa’s responsibilities will include assisting with various media and public relations projects, event promotions and publishing initiatives, including work with USA Hockey Magazine.

This past year, Caracappa served as the athletic communications intern for Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. His duties included updating and maintaining the athletics web site for the University’s 21 NCAA Division I programs, writing feature articles and producing live video and audio streams of home games. He also assisted with event promotions and the sports information department’s in-game statistical compilation.

A 2008 graduate of Penn State University, Caracappa interned in the media relations departments of the National Hockey League’s New York Rangers and State College Spikes, the New York-Penn League affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates. His responsibilities included updating and editing the teams’ media guides, and serving as the teams’ initial liaison to the public.

While at Penn State, Caracappa also co-anchored a weekly hockey show on the College of Communications’ student-run radio station and was a three-year member of the University’s American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II men’s ice hockey team.

Caracappa will become the eleventh Brian Fishman Intern and serve in that capacity until June 2010. Previous Brian Fishman Interns include (most recent listed first): Carly Peters (Bloomington, Minn./Syracuse University), Chris Peters (Chicago, Ill./Iowa State University), Craig Stancher (Calumet, Mich./Michigan Tech University), Alex Clark (Glenview, Ill./Colgate University), Christy Jeffries (White Lake, Mich./Boston University), Caitlin Lazaro (Effingham, N.H./University of New Hampshire), Seth Cole (Blue Hill, Maine/St. Michael’s College), Yariv Amir (Plainsboro, N.J./Colgate University), Cassy Maxton (Vandalia, Ohio/Miami (Ohio) University) and Jennifer Dame (St. Louis Park, Minn./St. Cloud State University).