Despite a good first period, the Nice hockey players were defeated (3-5) at home against a much more efficient Angers team.
The losing streak continues for Nice. Having been defeated in the last two championship games, the Eagles could still count on the passionate crowd at the Jean Bouin rink to secure three points against the Angers Dukes.
Offensive and focused, Stanislav Sutor’s men started the match at a blistering pace. Omnipresent in the opponent’s half, the Nice skaters repeatedly tested the Angers goalie and logically opened the scoring with a powerful shot by Q. Scolari in the 6th minute of play.
Struggling during the first twenty minutes of the game, the Angers Dukes seemed more engaged when returning from the locker room. They equalized at the start of the second period through F. Loic (4’) and then took the lead in the 12th minute thanks to M. Levesque, who finished off a beautiful team play. The game balanced out, and even though the pressure increased on the Nice goal, the hosts, with a numerical advantage, scored twice (34’ and 37’) to regain control of the match. Nice Hockey Elite led 3-2 before the final period.
But the third and final period highlighted the efficiency of the Angers team. Inaccurate and clumsy in their passes, the Eagles conceded a long-range shot in the 42nd minute (3-3), and F. Loic’s double (52’) allowed the Dukes to take the lead on the scoreboard (3-4). NHE then mustered all their energy to force overtime. In vain, a poor out-of-zone exit by the goalie ended all hope. Angers went on to score the winning goal in the empty net. 3-5 for the visitors, final score!
Yassine Said Hassane
