Penn State hockey’s 6-3 victory over Ohio State on Saturday might not have featured the fanfare of a Big Ten tournament or NCAA regional win, but it could still prove to be one of the most important in program history.

At this time of the year, you’ll hear players and coaches talk about how every single game is a must-win contest. That was especially true Saturday because losing would’ve virtually eliminated the Nittany Lions from the Big Ten regular season title race, and a loss would’ve also given the team’s national tournament aspirations a huge hit.

If Penn State lost Saturday’s game, it would’ve fallen down to No. 15 in the PairWise rankings — a spot that’s firmly on the 16-team tournament bubble. Thanks to the win, however, Guy Gadowsky’s team can breathe a bit easier at No. 8 in the PairWise. Ohio State currently occupies the No. 15 spot, so the Buckeyes will spend the final three weekends of the regular season battling for their postseason lives.

As far as the conference outlook is concerned, Penn State is currently alone on top of the Big Ten’s standings with 33 points. The Nittany Lions and Buckeyes entered the weekend tied for the conference lead on 29 points, and Ohio State is now tied with Minnesota and Michigan State for second in the conference with 31. Penn State’s Big Ten regular season championship hopes are very much alive thanks to its unbeaten weekend in Columbus, but the Golden Gophers and Spartans both have two games in hand on Gadowsky’s team and, therefore, a distinct advantage in the title charge.

Beyond the weekend’s implications in the standings, Gadowsky said there was a sense of relief in his program, which broke a bit of a slump over the weekend. Penn State was 1-3-2 over its last six games before heading to Columbus, so putting together strong performances and getting positive results was huge for the team.”

“We’re really happy with the good performance, but at the same time, points and wins are very important — both nationally and in the conference,” Gadowsky said. “Getting one on the road against a very tough team in a very tough environment where not many Big Ten teams have won felt very good.”

Although the weekend’s first game ended in a less favorable result — a 2-2 tie that ended with an Ohio State shootout win — Gadowsky said he was happy with Penn State’s performance in that game. The Nittany Lions got off to a strong start on Friday, but Ohio State fought back from an early 2-0 hole to force overtime.

Letting that first game get away didn’t necessarily sit well with Penn State’s players, but it only served to fire them up and get the Nittany Lions back to their typically high-scoring ways.

“We would’ve liked to have won the first game, but we only got a point out of it. A lot of guys stepped up [on Saturday] and it was a great team effort,” freshman center Connor MacEachern said. “Our bodies were pretty tired when Saturday night hit, but we were all dialed in. We were all antsy to get out there and produce.”

Penn State’s six-goal output in the win was its best since January 11. The game was just the third one in which the team scored more than three goals in a game since the start of the new calendar year, and the Nittany Lions’ next chance to keep the good times rolling will come this weekend against Wisconsin. The two teams will square off at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights out in Madison.