On Friday evening, the Nice Eagles faced off against the Boxers, who are at the bottom of the Magnus League, at the Jean Bouin ice rink. After a heavy defeat against Grenoble last Wednesday (7-0), Stan Sutor’s men returned home hoping to make up for that setback.
After an evenly matched start, the Bordeaux team, considered the underdogs, opened the scoring with a power play goal by Hughesman in the 13th minute. Shortly thereafter, the Eagles conceded a second goal scored by Valier. Bordeaux then led 2-0 at the end of the first period.
Nice returned to the ice with the desire to perform well and were more focused than in the first 20 minutes. In the 16th minute of the second period, Sabatier took advantage of the absence of two Bordeaux players, who were in the penalty box, to close the gap (2-1). Just a few minutes later, he scored again, allowing the Eagles to equalize at 2-2. Jean Bouin erupted with excitement, and the final period promised to be very intense…
In a shorthanded situation, Nice conceded a goal as soon as play resumed. Barbero then enabled Bordeaux to lead 3-2. Struggling offensively, the Eagles seemed helpless as the Boxers widened the gap (4-2). It simply wasn’t Nice’s night as they conceded one last goal just seconds before the end of the match (5-2).
Nice suffered their second consecutive defeat in the Magnus League but remains on the podium nonetheless (3rd)…
Tom Vannier
