ALBANY — While the River Rats made this meeting more respectable, the league-leading Hershey Bears continued their recent mastery of their East Division rival.
Andrew Gordon scored two goals and assisted on another and goalie Jason Bacashihua made 35 saves as Hershey turned back Albany, 5-2 on Friday night to extend its winning streak to 11 games.
The Rats made a rally bid as left wing Jiri Tlusty and right wing Jerome Samson each scored within a span of 1:37 to draw within 3-2 at 12:50 of the third period.
But Gordon followed with the back-breaking goal, set up by ex-Rat Bryan Helmer.
Goalie Jason Bacashihua made 35 saves to record the win for Hershey (40-9-0-2), which has lost only once in the past 24 games (23-1-0-0) since suffering a 3-0 loss at Albany (27-20-3-3) on Dec. 4.
The Bears, who are running away with the East Division lead with a league-best 82 points, have won the past three games against the Rats by a combined 23-9 mark.
Goalie Mike Morrison made 27 saves in his first start for the Rats, who played their first home game since the official announcement on Wednesday that the Albany franchise had been sold and will be relocated to Charlotte, N.C. after this season.
The Rats continue their three-game homestand against East Division opponents by hosting Binghamton tonight at 7 and take on Norfolk on Monday in a matinee at 5.