The Colgate hockey team has a problem.

It's called road trips.

The Red Raiders--Harvard's opponent at Bright Center tonight at 7:30 p.m. (WHRB, 95.3)--finished last season with an 18-11-3 record: 13-1 on home ice, 5-10-3 on the road.

The road has been a dismal place for Colgate (5-4-1 overall, 2-2-1 ECAC) this season as well. The team has posted a perfect record (5-0) in its hometown of Hamilton, N.Y. But has played pathetically (0-4-1) once it leaves town.

"Our schedule is tough; we're not back at home until January 7," Colgate Coach Terry Slater said. "Being on the road all the time is frustrating. If you make a mistake, you just can't correct it."

Unfortunately for the Red Raiders, its scheduling has not been its only problem. Or its only mistake.

It was predicted that Colgate's defense--which returns all six of last year's starters--would be one of the toughest, and most physical, in the league this season. And the blue-line corps, headed up by Mike Bishop and Scott Young, has been rough and tough.

But more than one team has blown it down.

"This year we have three lines that are all basically new," Slater said. "That's putting pressure on the defense, and the defense is just not jelling, so we're having a lot of problems."

Colgate's problems included dropping a pair of non-league contests to Northeastern and Lowell, and getting swept on its weekend jaunt to Clarkson and St. Lawrence last month.

Juniors Joel Garder (nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points) and Shawn Lillie (8-9--17) have provided some offensive firepower for the Red Raiders. Sophomore Dave Gagnon has been starting in goal in all previous ECAC games for Colgate, but don't be surprised if classmate Greg Menges (2.50 goals-against average) is between the twines tonight.

The Red Raider defense needs to solidify if it expects to hold down the Crimson scoring machine. Harvard (7-0 overall, 6-0 ECAC, 5-0 Ivy League) blasted Brown with 10 goals last Monday and is averaging six goals a game so far this season.

"It we're working hard and clicking, we're going to have our chances," Harvard Associate Coach Ronn Tomassoni said. "It's going to take a good goaltending performance to keep our scoring down."

The real Red invasion will take place Sunday, when Cornell (5-1 overall, 4-1 ECAC) takes the ice at Bright at 2 p.m. (WHRB, 95.3) for the renewal of arguably the ECAC's biggest rivalry.

"You can throw out records, because there is the rivalry there," junior forward John Murphy said. "We always take Cornell as a really big game."