Glenn Zuck doesn't have anything against Canadians.

It's the Canadians that have it against him.

It's not really Zuck in particular, it was actually the entire Penn State men's ice hockey team that the Canadians aren't particularly fond of.

But they have a good reason.

Last Saturday the No. 2 Icers waltzed into the Two Nations Cup Tournament, hosted by Seneca College in Toronto, and convincingly demolished their two northern opponents to secure the championship.

"Those Canadian people didn't like us very much," said Zuck, freshman forward for the Icers. "It's a Canadian thing. They're really serious about their hockey up there and I don't think they were happy that we won."

So after their extended northern exposure, the Icers are thrilled to be home again where the fans are warm and welcoming. Penn State (13-3-1, 11-2-1 ACHA) will have its official homecoming as the team takes on No. 11 Towson (11-4) at 7:30 tonight at the Ice Pavilion.

Penn State men's ice hockey coach Joe Battista, who secured his 349th win with a 6-1 win against Carleton in the tournament finals, will be looking for his 350th win tonight.

Earning the win should not be a difficult task for the Icers, who trampled the Tigers in a 5-1 road win early on in the season. In addition to their loss to Penn State, the Tigers have also fallen to No. 6 Delaware on three occasions this season.

But despite Towson's misfortune against high-ranking foes, the Icers aren't letting their guard down.

Battista said the Tigers have traditionally played the Icers to close games, and he is expecting the same in this match.

"We're their biggest game of the year," senior forward Greg Held said. "This is almost like the national championship game for them. A win would be huge for them."

Although Penn State holds home ice advantage for the game, a win will be more plausible for Towson this time around as many of Penn State's key players are injured or just returning from an injury.

Defenseman Josh Mandel returned to the ice for Penn State in both games of the Two Nations Cup Tournament. His presence was a huge boost to the struggling penalty kill unit, but the injury to his ankle resurfaced and Mandel was forced to leave after the first period of the championship game.

Mandel had been out since the beginning of December and is questionable for tonight's game.

Senior forward Alon Eizenman, who went out of the lineup around the same time as Mandel, is also questionable.

But even if both players can dress, the quality of their game might not be up to par so soon after returning.

Battista had also held out hope that forwards Joe McArdle and Paul Sealock, both injured in preseason, could return by midseason, but those hopes were dashed recently as both players underwent surgery, negating any chance of a return.

In spite of all the losses, Battista still has confidence in the depth of his team and said if anything will help the Icers pull out a win, it's the skill level of the bench players.

"Towson always comes in expecting to win," Battista said. "They have a physical, aggressive forechecking style, but they usually don't have the depth we have."