Players on the bench were yelling pass. Coaches were imploring shoot. Defenseman Weston Knox, heading off the ice on a line shift, didn’t engage in the discussion. Not that he doesn't have an opinion on the matter.

“If you’ve got a guy like Gravink who has a chance to shoot, I'm letting him shoot,” Knox said.

“Gravink” would be Andover forward Logan Gravink. And the play in question occurred Saturday in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Centennial Sports Arena. 

Gravink, cruising in on a 3-on-2, saw a defenseman drop to the ice, taking away his passing lane. He figured his next best option at that point was to shoot. Good idea.

Although firing from a tough angle to the right of one of the state’s top goalies in Centennial’s Jack Fuller, Gravink found enough of an opening to score a second-period goal, giving the Huskies’ their first lead in an eventual 7-4 triumph over the Cougars.

Six weeks ago, the result of that play likely would have been altogether different. Maybe Gravink doesn’t have the wherewithal to grab the loose puck and bring it into the zone. Maybe he forces a pass. Maybe he misfires with the shot. Something was almost guaranteed to go wrong.

A top-line forward who scored 15 goals last season, Gravink the goal-scorer was nowhere to be found to start this season. He managed one goal and one assist through the Huskies’ first nine games—the very definition of a slump.

Andover coach Mark Manney shuffled Gravink, a senior captain, throughout the lineup. First line, second line, third line — Gravink played on them all. When asked which forwards he’s been paired with this season, Gravink listed pretty much every one on the Huskies’ roster.

“I think early in the year he was just thinking success would come easy to him,” Manney said. “He had 15 goals playing on a line with with Garrett Schifsky and Gavyn Thoreson and maybe figured that that was guaranteed again this year.”

By all accounts, Gravink’s demeanor never changed. He wasn’t producing points, but he was still contributing to the team. He remained a model leader, staying upbeat while doing and saying all the right things.

“He really wasn't too discouraged,” Knox said. “He just kept going. He knew it was going to come and then when it sparked, it lit a fire under everybody.”

The Gravink of old re-emerged at the most opportune of times, scoring a goal and adding an assist in the Huskies’ 3-1 triumph over then-No. 1-2A Cretin-Derham Hall. He added an assist on the winning goal a day later in 2-1 triumph over Hill-Murray (ranked in the top five almost all season). Gravink has scored 16 points, including eight goals, in his last nine games — the very definition of a hot streak.

“I think it was a good wake-up call, getting moved down,” said Gravink, who’s back on the No. 1-2A Huskies’ top line and had two goals in the win over No. 12-2A Centennial. “I mean, nobody ever wants to get moved down. You kind of just put your head down and go to work.”

Gravink studies game video daily. He assesses his strengths and weaknesses and schemes ways to gain advantages over opposing defenses. What he saw was the need to start moving his feet and trusting his instincts. Simple stuff.

“I kind of started leaning on my teammates more,” Gravink said. “Give the puck, get it back and help out my teammates as much as I can. We’ve been pretty successful doing that.”

The Huskies (15-2-1) are one of just three Class 2A teams with fewer than three losses. They haven’t lost since Dec. 30, a six-game stretch in which they’ve scored five or more goals in each outing, thanks in part to Gravink’s steady contributions. 

“We know we’ve got someone to feed the puck to who knows how to score,” Knox said.

Manney describes Gravink, who has nine goals and nine assists in 18 games, as a power forward sometimes trapped in a danglers’ mindset.

“I like his offensive instincts,” Manney said. “He finds open areas he can get to and then score from, and we don't have a lot of guys who have that.”

He's also a guy who, when he has the chance, will shoot. And much of the time score.

No matter what mixed messages might be coming from the bench.