Tonight is the 27th day of the Ligue Magnus, the Nice Eagles are taking on the Angers Ducs away. The goal is to repeat Sunday’s victory, but the Ducs are 2nd in the standings and the task will be tough.
The Eagles’ last match turned out to be a success against Briançon. But today’s opponents are of a completely different caliber. Angers is in 2nd place in the standings and happens to be a formidable opponent. The first period starts strong, with Angers quickly finding a way to breach the Nice defense and scoring in the 1st minute thanks to an excellent play by Peter Valier. The game then calms down, and both teams manage and defend well. However, in the 14th minute, Luka Kalan scores for the Eagles to tie the score at 1-1. In the 17th minute, Angers proves decisive and scores before the end of the first period thanks to Brady Shaw. The score at the end of the first period: 2-1 to the Ducs.
The Ducs take off
The second period begins slowly, with the game being quiet and both teams seeming to hold well in defense. The long lull is abruptly interrupted by Nick Ross who scores the 3rd goal for the Ducs in the 13th minute of this period. Angers has a comfortable lead at this point in the match and starts playing in a way to secure this lead. Hope still remains for the Nice team, but the comeback will be difficult.
Angers is too strong
The Eagles start the 3rd period strong thanks to Ivan Esipov who scores in the 16th second of the game! Nice’s hopes are revived, and the match seems within reach. But the Angers team plays well and it is very difficult to penetrate their defense. The Nice team doubles their efforts to try to equalize, but the Ducs are tough and they widen the gap again by scoring in the 18th minute with a shot by Peter Valier once more. The Angers team doesn’t stop there and scores a 5th goal in the 19th minute, a goal this time by Brodie Reid. Final score, 5-2 for Angers, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of the Nice team.
Next time, meet on February 2nd at home to see the Eagles face the Rouen Dragons.
