RAPID CITY-Things won't get any easier for the Rapid City Rush but at least the Central Hockey League expansion team will be halfway to its first home appearance after this weekend's pair of road games.

The Rush (1-0-4 overall) travels to Oklahoma City to play the Blazers at 6:10 p.m. MDT on Friday night, then heads north to take on Northwest Division foe Wichita at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday.

Sunday's face-off with the Thunder marks the halfway point of Rapid City's season-opening stretch of 14 road games. The Rush is scheduled to christen their new home ice at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 2:05 p.m.

The Rush is coming off a grueling three-day sojourn to Texas, where Rapid City won an 8-2 franchise-first victory over the Corpus Christi IceRays on Friday, then lost back-to-back overtime games with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (4-3 in a shootout) on Saturday and 3-2 to the Laredo Bucks on Sunday.

The losses mark the fourth overtime and/or shootout finish in five games for Rapid City. The Rush has failed to win any of the four games, but has earned a point in the CHL Northwest Division standings for each overtime and sits second to the 6-0 Colorado Eagles in the division.

"We're in every game. We haven't lost yet in regulation to any team. That's a huge positive," said Rush head coach Joe Ferras. "We put in 56 hours on a bus in five days, and we came out with four out of six points."

The upcoming weekend jaunt will see both current CHL honorees of the week on the ice in Oklahoma City.

The Rush will be led by Oakley CHL Player of the Week, forward Chris Lipsett, who recorded a franchise-first hat trick against the IceRays on Friday and finished the weekend with five goals and two assists.

Lipsett leads the CHL with seven goals and is tied for fourth in points with Colorado's Ryan Tobler, each with 11.

Oklahoma City counters with Oakley CHL Goalie of the Week Andy Franck, who has been nearly bulletproof in six games between the pipes, giving up just eight goals with 135 saves in starting all six games for the Blazers. Franck is a stingy 94.4 percent in saves.

Oklahoma City leads the Northeast Division with a 4-0-2 mark. The Blazers split last weekend's contests, downing Tulsa 5-1 on Saturday, then bowing to Colorado 2-1 in a shootout on Sunday.

Wichita, 2-3-0, is in third place in the Northwest Division trailing Rapid City. The Thunder is coming off a pair of wins last weekend, a 6-3 victory over the Rocky Mountain Rage on Oct. 24, and a 7-6 OT win over New Mexico on Oct. 26.

Ferras expects another tough road trip, but that's his job.

"If you take any team lightly in the CHL, you're going to lose," Ferras said