RAPID CITY - One down. Three to go.

The second of four key Central Hockey League Northwest Division matchups this week awaits the Rapid City Rush when they host the division leading Colorado Eagles.

Tonight's face-off, set for 7:05 p.m., at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena, marks the eighth of 12 scheduled regular-season clashes between the two division rivals.

Colorado has won all but one, the lone loss coming during Rapid City's celebrated home-ice debut on Nov. 29.

Rapid City (11-13-7 overall) has won three of its last four games, including a 5-4 overtime triumph over the Rocky Mountain Rage on Sunday in Broomfield, Colo.

The win, the first in seven overtime and shootout games for the Rush, pulled Rapid City within four points of the Rage for second place in the division.

The Eagles are far out in front of the Northwest Division with

a 24-6-1 mark, and yet are coming off their most lopsided defeat of the season, a 7-2 humbling by fourth-place Wichita on Saturday night.

Wichita held the high-octane Eagle offense to 1-of-6 on power plays.

Rapid City downed Wichita on the road, then split a weekend set with Tulsa on Friday and Saturday.

"We're very happy with winning three of four and playing a great game, the game we lost," said Rush head coach Joe Ferras.

Now comes Colorado's experienced roster bristling with shooters, led by right-winger Greg Pankewicz (21 goals, 24 assists for 45 points).

"They're a team that runs a run-and-gun style of hockey and they've got so many offensive weapons," Ferras said. "There are seven or eight forwards that can just kill you all night long. We've got to try and contain them and take away their time and space."

Rapid City counters with all-star starter Rich Hansen, (13 goals, 30 assists for 43 points) and Chris Lipsett (19 goals, 18 assists for 37 points).

In the last five games, forwards Derek LeBlanc and Jon Pelle have each scored three goals, with Lipsett, Kyle Sheen and Blaine Jarvis netting a pair each.

Hansen added four assists, with Lipsett, LeBlanc, defensmen Jamie VanderVeeken and Rob Dmytruk each adding three helpers.

"We battled all weekend and we're starting to play real sound hockey. That's the key here with such a young group of guys," Ferras said.

On the injury front, there's good news and bad news for the Rush. Reactivated this week is forward Brady Olsen, but lost for the same time frame is forward R.G. Flath with what the team described as an upper-body injury.

The Rush complete the week's divisional showdown theme with a two-game set with the Wichita Thunder on Friday and Saturday.