For this quarter-final of the Coupe de France, the Eagles of Nice traveled to face the Dukes of Angers. Despite a closely contested beginning, the Niçois fell behind in the second period.
The journey ends here for the Eagles of Nice. At the Ice Park in Angers during the quarter-final, the suspense quickly faded. Yet, the teammates of Luka Kalan had ambitions for the evening: “we believe in ourselves, and if we do everything correctly, we have a great chance of winning,” declared the Slovenian forward. However, Angers is also in top form. As annual title contenders, the Angevins demonstrated their superiority that night.
It began in the very first minute when Marc André Lévesque was forced into an error. Despite being a man down, Nice held firm against a lackluster local team in the early stages. That trend did not last, as six minutes later, Brady Shaw managed to beat Conrad Molder (1-0). Trailing, Nice had a few dangerous opportunities, but their goalkeeper Matthew O’Connor proved to be imperious in his net.
Angers Crucifies the Eagles
Returning from the locker room, hope was still alive for Frantisek Stolc’s men. But Angers had other ideas. The Dukes sped up the pace in the attack. The Azurean defense was overwhelmed, and the score began to worsen. Nicolas Ritz and then Matthew Prapavessis extended the lead (3-0). The Maralpin coach decided to try and stop the bleeding by bringing in Raphaël Garnier. But the damage was too deep. The Niçois were over-penalized and Angers took advantage by scoring three times in five minutes (6-0) before the break. Teo Sarlieve, Philippe Halley, and once again Nicolas Ritz put an end to the suspense.
The rest of the match held little interest for both sides. Angers, however, did not let up the pressure, but Raphaël Garnier certainly felt challenged and showed what he was capable of (14 saves in 30 minutes). Nonetheless, it is worth noting the goal by Marek Sloboda (6-1) to salvage some pride in the 51st minute while in power play.
The gap was too great this evening for the Niçois, who should not have any regrets. Now, it’s time to focus on the Ligue Magnus starting this Friday with a home game against Gap at 8:30 PM.
