As big as the last week has been, the next eight days could prove to be just as momentous for the Rapid City Rush.

The Rush have strung together three wins in the last four games, including a pair of franchise firsts, Rapid City’s first road win over archrival Colorado on Saturday to complete a 2-1 series win over the Eagles, and Wednesday’s 3-1 victory at Wichita, giving the Rush consecutive road wins for the first time in franchise history.

Rapid City (8-6-1 overall) kicks off a key four-game homestand tonight to celebrate the first anniversary of the opening of the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena, hosting a weekend pair with the Mississippi RiverKings.

The ’Kings are currently tied with Colorado with 17 points for second place, and Rapid City is just two points adrift in fourth place in the Central Hockey League’s Northern Conference standings.

“To go 2-0-1 in our last three games on the road, and 3-1-1 in our last five games is a big confidence boost to our hockey club going into a big homestand against Mississippi this weekend,” Rush head coach Joe Ferras said.

Tonight’s game, featuring the debut of a third regular-season jersey design, is set for 7:05 p.m. Saturday’s matchup is a 2:05 p.m., matinee because of the evening’s holiday Parade of Lights in downtown Rapid City.

Special teams play continued to be important for the Rush in the win over Wichita.

Rapid City scored on 2-of-5 power-play chances, while keeping the Thunder from rumbling in 7-of-7 man-advantage opportunities.

“Special teams were just fantastic,” Ferras said. “To hold Colorado to 0-for-9 and then come back to hold Wichita to 0-for-7 with their new players was great for us.”

Rush forward Blaine Jarvis has led the special team resurgence for the Rush. The 6-foot, 209-pounder has five points on two goals and three assists, but leads the teams in special teams intangibles, such as blocked shots, which aren’t tallied by the league.

Jarvis said the chemistry between players on power-play and penalty kill was good to start and is only getting better.

“I feel we’ve been pretty good all year. Everything’s just starting to click, and everyone’s getting used to playing with each other,” said Jarvis.

The Rush are currently ranked second in the league in penalty-kill, stop 87.6 percent of an opponent’s power plays.

Rapid City is seventh in the league in power-play, scoring 18 percent of the time with the man advantage, but the Rush have scored five power play goals in the last two games.

The RiverKings and Rush split a weekend series in Rapid City on Nov. 6-7. Rapid City won 5-1 on Nov. 5, with the RiverKings bouncing back for a 3-1 win the next night.

“Mississippi is a team we’re chasing. We know they have a very solid team that just keeps coming at you. I expect two playoff level hockey games,” Ferras said.