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The Helping Hand of the Wolves: T.J. Tynan

T.J. Tynan is listed at at 5-foot-8 and 168 pounds on the stat sheet – much of it heart and grit.

The Orland Park, Illinois, native has led the charge lately as the Wolves continue to climb the Central Division standings. In Tynan’s last 20 games, he has delivered 20 points (6G, 14A). In the last four games, he has handed out eight primary assists.

It isn’t just the offensive numbers that make the 25-year-old center a nimble hockey player. Tynan is among Chicago’s premier penalty killers, the go-to center for key faceoff situations and serves as a setup man on the power play. You can see him back-checking from a mile away, blazing through the ice like a knife cutting through butter. Wolves sideline reporter Mark Citron sat down with Tynan to discuss what is happening on and off the ice lately.

Q: Your play has been outstanding of late. What has been the secret ingredient to these results?

A: I don’t think there is a secret about it. We have a new team and a lot of new guys that hadn’t played with each other and we kind of struggled, but we found our rhythm as a group. Like you said, the last 20 games we have started finding our game.

Q: Can you ever recall scoring two short-handed goals in a game – which you did as part of your hat trick on Dec. 16 against Iowa – at any level of playing hockey?

A: (Laughs) No, I don’t think I have before. It was a good game for us and, obviously, all the guys on penalty kill take pride in it, so to contribute to that offensively is nice to see.

Q: What are your thoughts on the new faceoff rule? It seems as if every game multiple centers are getting kicked out of the faceoff circle. What are your thoughts on it?

A: They are strict with it, but I don’t know why. Maybe potentially to create more offense for the fans? I totally understand that, though, and getting kicked out of the faceoff dot happens all the time, so you have your teammates to help you out.

Q: Craziest thing you ever witnessed in a hockey game?

A: I have seen a good coach freak out before. Not my coach, but in juniors a guy got kicked out of the game and ripped up his note sheet and ripped it all over the ice.

Q: Favorite TV show you are currently watching?

A: A couple of us are re-watching Entourage. I don’t know how many times we’ve watched it, but it is the best.