MARK BURNS SAYS BRYAN HOGAN SHOULD START::

You could hear the gasps for Bryan Hogan. And you could certainly hear the doubters for Shawn Hunwick inside Yost Ice Arena on that Thursday night this past February.

Skating off the Michigan hockey team’s bench was then-junior Hunwick, the 5-foot-7, backup netminder. Then-junior Hogan had just suffered a groin injury against Notre Dame in the last weekend of the regular season, and with Hunwick having seen just 20 minutes of playing time his entire career, the Wolverines’ hopes of advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 20th-straight year appeared unrealistic.

But Hunwick stood tall between the pipes, winning six straight games en route to a CCHA Tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Not to mention, he received CCHA MVP honors.

When the dust cleared, Hunwick and the Wolverines came up just one goal short of making it to the Frozen Four at Ford Field.

To the casual observer, it may seem as if coach Red Berenson should just continue to ride "Rudy". After all, he led the Wolverines on an improbable run against improbable odds. For a former walk-on, Hunwick proved he could be a No. 1 goalie on a Division I hockey team.

Just not this team.

And so I’m here to crash the Shawn Hunwick party, and I’d like to be the first to say welcome back, Bryan Hogan.

As Hunwick stepped into the spotlight on Feb. 25 against the Fighting Irish, the Michigan hockey team had a transformation of sorts, reverting back to the Berenson-coached teams of the mid 90s and early 2000s.

Combining a tenacious defensive effort with a prolific offensive attack, the desperate Wolverines dominated the competition in those eight wins before succumbing to Miami (Ohio) in a controversial loss in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Scoring at least five goals five times, Michigan did a complete 180 from the previous 30 or so games, and the Wolverines seemed to exhibit a different style of play in front of Hunwick.

The total-team effort —the Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde metamorphosis in front of Hunwick — ultimately contributed to Michigan’s success in the latter stages. But it wasn’t so much Hunwick standing on his head as it was the Wolverines finally reaching their potential and proving they belonged in the same sentence as the Miamis, Boston Colleges and the Wisconsins.

Don’t get me wrong, Hunwick played solid in net over that 10-game stretch. He made some key stops along the way, but he never stole a game for the Wolverines.

Call me pessimistic, a buzzkill, whatever you want. It’s just a fact that this team, which has underperformed as of late, is ready for Hogan to right the ship, grab the starting job and lead Michigan to contend for its first title in more than a decade.

Anyone claiming that Hunwick should man the pipes based on the team’s transformative performance in front of him is clearly misguided. The Wolverines have played extremely well in front of Hogan already, and anyone saying the team plays harder for Hunwick is just, simply, wrong.

Throughout his sophomore campaign, thoughts of Hogan possibly mirroring legendary goaltender Marty Turco (yes, I said it) quietly surfaced.

But leave it to a first-round upset at the hands of Air Force that same season to immediately stifle those beliefs. And that's where everyone seems to lose sight of Hogan ever leading Michigan back to the Frozen Four or even just holding down the No. 1 spot.

A 2-0 loss. Eleven saves. Against the 16th-ranked and last place Falcons.

For the ignorant onlooker, the common response is something along the lines of, "How could a goaltender allow two goals on such few shots to such a lowly-seeded team like Air Force? Surely, the loss is Hogan's, right?"

Well, if my memory serves me right, you can’t win if you don’t score, and after Michigan pummeled Falcon netminder Andrew Volkening with 43 shots, not one puck had crossed the goal line. The Wolverines, who were clutch in front of Hunwick last season, failed to capitalize on their chances the year prior.

A year and half later, two Michigan goalies are again competing for the job, which bodes well for Hogan. Remember, in a much-talked-about competition with Sauer, Hogan won out, so maybe all Hogan needs is just a little healthy battle to bring out the best in him.