Picture this.

Set back on a canal off of Duck Lake in the middle of Highland, Mich. is a 210'-by-115' ice sheet — one larger than an Olympic-sized rink. A 400-foot wire is strung lengthwise across the rink, supporting 25 150-watt light fixtures. It’s nine o’clock in the evening and the frozen pond is considerably torn up from a day’s worth of skating. This isn’t just your average backyard rink — this is an oasis.

And junior goaltender Bryan Hogan — when time permits during the Michigan hockey team’s hectic year-long schedule — can be found rifling pucks across this secluded rink.

Last Sunday night, Hogan, along with fellow juniors Chad Langlais and Tristin Llewellyn and Hogan’s father, Jim, played a pick-up game in the wake of the Wolverines’ upcoming outdoor contest against Wisconsin in the Camp Randall Classic.

“I think the only reason why Chad wanted to come out there was because we have the game this weekend,” Hogan said with a slight laugh. “Usually, he doesn’t want to, but I dragged him out there. It’s quite an experience.”

His father named it “The Duck Lake Forum,” and when Hogan makes it there, he can be seen sporting a blue Rimouski Oceanic (Sidney Crosby's former Quebec Major Hockey League team) jersey.

Surprisingly, Hogan rarely ever wears goalie attire when out on the pond. His father said he never expected Hogan to end up between the pipes, considering he’s only seen his son strap on the pads once at The Forum since he was 10 or 11.

“It’s too cold out there to play goalie,” Hogan said. “No one wants to play goalie. But (this weekend) I’m going to have to.”

Jim is quick to highlight that it might have been former NHL goaltender Ed Belfour — who Bryan met at a very young age — who inspired him to throw on a goalie mask. Growing up, he consistently wore No. 20 on his jersey and exhibited the same sort of art on his helmet as Belfour.

And while Hogan almost always plays forward on Duck Lake, this Saturday against the Badgers, he’ll be Michigan’s last line of defense. He’ll have to adjust to the rink, potential shadows, bright lights and the overall game-day atmosphere.

“When a player advances … so often they are thrust into an environment, for lack of a better word, artificial environment,” Jim said. “It’s on a big stage with bright lights and it’s very structured. And then you can find a way to escape that after it’s all been placed before you and you can retreat back to where it all started, that’s special.”

The Forum provides that escape from reality to a place where it all began. It's a place where a 21-year-old Division I college hockey player can recapture his youth, according to Jim. It’s where teammates and friends can have a few laughs and forget about the difficult season they’ve had to endure. It’s where a father and son can toss the puck around and rekindle the bond they’ve shared over the years on the ice. But most important, it's where a son can make a father's day...and not even know it.

“We started out (last weekend) with a little two-on-two … and (Bryan, Chad and Tristin) humored me for a little bit and let me be a part of it,” Mr. Hogan said. “I’ll tell you what, when Bryan started school there, I dreamed of the day when he’d bring a few guys up to play. Those guys don’t know it, and no one else really knows this, but for me, it was the thrill of a lifetime.

“Someday as a dad, you’re going to look back on your kids and you’re going to share experiences in their lives — there are going to be some special moments. It seems like such a simple thing, but it was something way beyond that. And I’ll never forget that.”