In a packed Jean-Bouin arena on a big night, the Eagles of Nice delivered a perfect performance. In a match controlled from start to finish (5-0), the Nice team were never truly troubled by Briançon’s Red Devils.
A week after their first victory, the Eagles of Nice returned to Jean-Bouin this Friday. Marc-André Lévesque’s men came back from a defeat against Cergy in overtime, so it was important to react immediately in front of their home crowd.
Mission accomplished. The Eagles produced an ideal start to the match by quickly capitalizing on their dominance. From the 1st minute, Nice created a first clear chance one-on-one, narrowly missed. The pressure paid off shortly after, 26 seconds later, Nicholas Cherkowski opened the scoring assisted by Henrik Rommel and Alexandre Gagnon. Determined, the Nice players continued to push and doubled their lead in the 5th minute thanks to Alexandre Gagnon, assisted by Nicholas Cherkowski and Samuel Regis. A play where the goalscorer had to try twice to put the puck in the back of the net.
On the other side, Briançon did not give up and imposed a tough physical battle during the opening ten minutes, without however managing to genuinely trouble the Nice defense. When the visitors showed some danger, notably with a fine shot in the 11th minute, Alexis Shank made a brilliant stop. The Nice goalkeeper became a true wall at the end of the period. Under pressure while shorthanded five minutes before the break, he made four consecutive decisive saves. Despite an end to the period marked by high tension and several altercations between players, Nice went into the dressing room with a two-goal advantage.
A controlled victory
Unlike the first period, the second period opened at a calmer pace. During the first five minutes, Nice conceded nothing and attempted a few shots without real danger, while managing the end of a power play. In the 9th minute, following an interception by the visitors at center ice during a Nice possession, Briançon pushed forward but again ran into an unflappable Alexis Shank. For their part, the Eagles still lacked a bit of sharpness, before accelerating play noticeably.
In the 10th minute, Édouard St-Laurent, assisted by Nicolas Ruel, broke through. After a nice feint to shake off a defender, he got around the opposing goaltender and simply pushed the puck into the net (3-0). Shortly after, Rolands Vigners nearly added to the score in the 13th minute but ran into the Briançon goaltender. It was only a matter of time. A minute later, Édouard St-Laurent scored a hat-trick on a pass from Nicholas Cherkowski, a goal confirmed after video review. The Nice team finished this second period in complete control, serene and never greatly troubled by their opponents. 4-0 before heading into the final period of the match.
The third period got off to the same start, but the Nice team saw a goal disallowed after just over a minute of play following video review. During the opening ten minutes of this final period, the play remained very intense and tempers flared again. Despite the tension, the Eagles kept their composure and maintained control of the match, protected by an exceptional Alexis Shank, who made three more decisive saves. The icing on the cake a minute before the final horn was Nicholas Cherkowski scoring a hat-trick bringing the final score to (5-0).
Marc-André Lévesque: « Tonight the plan was to attack hard »
After the match, relief and pride dominated the Nice camp following this convincing victory. For the Eagles’ coach, this reference victory comes at the best possible time, erasing the setback suffered earlier in the week. « After the beating we took in the last match, the guys’ reaction at home is very positive. In the previous matches, we were always chasing the score. Tonight, the plan was to attack hard from the start, take the lead and control our game by delivering 60 complete minutes. »
The evening’s hero and named man of the match for the second consecutive time at Jean-Bouin, goalkeeper Alexis Shank savored his clean sheet while highlighting the collective effort: « A match without conceding a goal doesn’t happen every day. The order was to bounce back after our heartbreaking defeat on Tuesday. Everyone worked flawlessly in front of me and made my job easier. » With a record of three victories in four matches, the Nice players are brimming with confidence and are launching their season ideally.
After this victory constructed throughout, Nice earns three points and takes top spot in the standings tied with Grenoble, Marseille, Chamonix and Angers. The Eagles of Nice will face the Spartans of Marseille this Sunday at 6:30 PM for the 5th day of Ligue Magnus.
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