Michigan teammates congratulate Luke Glendening after his goal in the hockey game against Ferris State at Yost Arena Friday night. Michigan defeated Ferris State 2 - 0. Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

All week, Red Berenson has stressed the importance of a stand-up defensive performance to his Michigan hockey team.

Faced with the challenge of putting the clamps on No. 9-ranked Ferris State, the Wolverines orchestrated one of their top efforts of the season in an impressive 2-0 victory over the Bulldogs at Yost Ice Arena.

As Berenson expected, Michigan's defense would have to prove itself early on. Even while at a two-skater disadvantage.

The Wolverines' penalty-killing unit shut down Ferris State during a 5-on-3 Bulldogs advantage after Luke Glendening and David Wohlberg were both called for penalties on the same shift.

For the next two minutes, Michigan's defenders kept the Bulldogs from getting any serious shots on goal, preserving the shutout before Glendening gave the Wolverines all the offensive production they'd require.

And as soon as the two minutes had expired, the Yost crowd of 6,866 exploded with its biggest ovation of the night.

"That was a huge momentum (shift) for our team," senior defenseman Steve Kampfer said. "It shows the guys that were out there penalty-killing were sacrificing their bodies and it was a big step for us and I think it changed the momentum of the game and got us going forward."

Michigan (14-10-1, 9-7-1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) maintained the momentum before Glendening broke the scoreless tie 3:43 into the second period. The sophomore right wing struck again just more than five minutes later, providing Michigan with a two-goal lead.

The defense took things from there, allowing Ferris State (16-7-2, 10-5-2 CCHA) only 22 shots as goalie Bryan Hogan recorded his second shutout win in three games.

The win -- Michigan's first marquee win since knocking off Wisconsin in November -- was another step in the direction Berenson hopes to see his team continue in throughout the second half.

Michigan wraps up its home-and-home series with the Bulldogs at 8:05 p.m. Saturday before facing facing Michigan State next weekend.

"This time of year, all the games are going to be like playoff games," Berenson said. "You've got to be really stingy defensively because goals for are not going to come easy as you saw tonight. (Ferris State) is the best offensive team in our league and best power play in our league and we were able to shut them down.

"Now, we've got to worry about tomorrow night."

Jeff Arnold covers Michigan hockey for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at jeffarnold@annarbor.com or 734-623-2554. Follow him at Twitter @jeffreyparnold.