Michigan State hockey remains the Big Ten’s best.

Saturday’s 5-2 victory at Notre Dame clinched Michigan State’s second straight Big Ten title.

The Spartans finished the season with 50 points in the Big Ten standings. It’s the ninth in program history, the second since joining the Big Ten in 2013.

Entering the weekend’s series at Notre Dame, Michigan State (24-6-4, 15-5-4 Big Ten) needed help to win a title.

After taking just one of a possible six points in last week’s final homestand against Penn State, the Spartans trailed Minnesota by two points in the Big Ten standings.

Even with Friday’s win over Notre Dame, they’d need Minnesota to lose at least once.

But those same Nittany Lions stayed hot, knocking off Minnesota in overtime Friday to improve to 10-1-2 over the past 13 games. Even though Minnesota could tie Michigan State’s point total with a win in Saturday’s rematch with Penn State, the Spartans own the tiebreaker with 10 out of 12 possible points against the Gophers.

With two goals each from forwards Tiernan Shoudy and Shane Vansaghi, and one from forward Tanner Kelly, adding offense in front of 29 saves from goaltender Trey Augustine, Michigan State never trailed in Saturday’s championship-clinching win.

The game was the final home contest for Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson, a sendoff replete with alumni and peers from his just shy of four decades in coaching.

Jackson will coach the Irish for at least two more games in the Big Ten quarterfinal, taking a road trip to second-place Minnesota.

Atop the Big Ten, Michigan State earned a bye for the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Because the Big Ten Tournament reseeds semifinal matchups, Michigan State will host the lowest remaining seed in a single-game semifinal at Munn Ice Arena two weeks from now.

The quarterfinal round will see second-place Minnesota host seventh-place Notre Dame, third-place Ohio State host sixth-place Wisconsin and fourth-place Michigan host Penn State.

Michigan State went its first 10 seasons in the Big Ten without winning a conference championship. In the three seasons since coach Adam Nightingale took over, the Spartans have won it twice with these two consecutive titles. Michigan State will look for another title defense in the conference tournament, defending last year’s title won in a 4-3 overtime thriller over Michigan at Munn.

Over the past three seasons, Michigan State is 67-34-9 overall.

Currently second in the national Pairwise comparison that determines at-large bids, Michigan State has guaranteed its spot in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. Before last year’s run ended in the regional final, Michigan State had most recently made the NCAA Tournament in 2012.