The Nice Eagles won the first Southern derby of the season (5-2). An excellent performance by Nice, marked by a completely crazy second period.
The Nice Eagles were hosting the Spartiates of Marseille this Friday evening at the Jean Bouin ice rink. It was the third match of the year for Nice and already the fifth for the Spartiates, with a positive record (3-1).
A very intense start to this derby match. Goalkeeper Alexis Shank intervenes to keep the Nice goal secure. In a one-on-one, the goalie once again stops the puck.
It’s extremely lively, the battles are fierce, sometimes at the limit. All the ingredients of a good derby are there; only the goals are missing at the start of the match. The tension rises, and tempers flare. A player from each team is penalized for an altercation after 12 minutes and 30 seconds of play.
A completely wild end of the first period
In the final moments of the first period, the players in blue tonight become more offensive and force the Marseille goalie to make multiple saves. Five minutes before the end, the Eagles concede another penalty, their third already. Despite this, they continue creating chances.
The last minute of this period is completely crazy! A slip by a Nice player behind his net almost benefited the Phoceans. However, the Eagles do not panic and launch a counterattack. While the first shot is missed, the play continues and with a long-range shot, Colin Morillon opens the scoring. The Jean Bouin ice rink erupts with joy, and their team heads to the locker room with a slight lead (1-0).
An express return from the locker room for the Eagles of Nice
16 seconds! That’s how long it took the Azur residents to double the score in this second period. Mathieu Descagnes scores his first goal of the season. He repeats the feat three minutes later, bringing the score to 3-0. The Niçois start to pull away in this game.
The team of Marc André Lévesque is unstoppable at the start of the second act. After 26 minutes of play, the Eagles bring the score to four to zero, thanks to Loïc Coulaud. A demonstration of commitment and finishing in front of the goal. The Spartiates, heavily hit, don’t give up and reduce the score (4-1).
The fight intensifies once again, and tempers flare between the two teams. A brawl leads to a two-minute exclusion for a Marseille player. The Azur residents continue their offensive festival with a fifth goal by Jesper Larinmaa. The score remains the same at the end of this second period.
A third period managed by the Eagles
The last 20 minutes of this match were much calmer than the rest of the encounter. The Eagles did concede a goal less than four minutes before the end of the match (5-2). A goal conceded while shorthanded. This did not spoil the joy of such a victory. The Eagles win the Southern derby, and what a way to do it!
Coach Marc André Lévesque greatly appreciated his team’s display tonight: “It was important to bounce back, especially against Marseille, it was the perfect opportunity.” For his part, goalkeeper Alexis Shank spoke about the end-of-match management. “It was important to play a bit more tightly.”
For their next match this Sunday, the Eagles of Nice will travel to Gap.
