A match that smelled like gunpowder. For this 21st day of the Ligue Magnus, the Nice Eagles were hosting the Amiens Gothics in a duel between two teams in search of points.
The sixth versus the eighth faced off tonight at Jean Bouin. The Nice Eagles, in a better dynamic, wanted to get back on track after their defeat in overtime this week against Anglet. On the other hand, Amiens was experiencing a very difficult period despite a narrow victory against Brianรงon. Before that, the Amiens team was on a streak of seven consecutive losses. This match, therefore, had a particular value for both teams in search of confidence. The beginning of the game was very intense.
The Nice Eagles were very close to taking the lead in the score on several occasions, but some great saves by Clรฉment Fouquerel kept the Amiens Gothics in the game. Nice dominated, but neither team managed to make a difference. The stakes of the match created tension for both sides. It took until the second period for the match to heat up, driven by the Gothics. After six minutes, Bastien Maia for Amiens opened the score on a perfectly initiated counter-attack by Mathieu Mony with the pass.
The complexion of the game shifted as Amiens showed great intentions. It took a few minutes to see a reaction from the Nice Eagles, but the Amiens goalie, Clรฉment Fouquerel, blocked their attempts. The match became tense again when Jordan Mugnier was taken down during an offensive phase. Amiens was rightly penalized, and Nice found themselves five against three. After the first penalty was killed, the Eagles continued with a power play for four minutes and finally found the breakthrough. Louis Cierge shot and it benefited Teemu Loizeau, who opportunistically deflected the shot into the Amiens net (1-1).
A frustrating end of the match for the Nice Eagles
Except that Nice let their guard down and Amiens, although shorthanded, created some fine opportunities. Kieran Craig recovered the puck in the defensive zone and went alone to challenge Alexis Shank, who had to concede to this magnificent individual effort (1-2). Amiens pulled off a great result and led unexpectedly.
In the final period, Nice persevered and made an effort to level the score once more. The minutes passed, and the scenario did not change. The Eagles became frustrated and conceded another goal while taking a gamble in the final moments of the match, thanks to a brilliant move by Sean Richards.
The Nice Eagles lost at home against the Amiens Gothics (1-3). In the standings, the gap between the two playoff contenders narrowed as Amiens moved within four points of Nice with a game in hand. As the mid-season approached, it was difficult to discern a clear trend. The Nice Eagles will be found Tuesday night at 8:05 PM on the ice of Chamonix for another important mid-table duel.
