On the occasion of the second day of the Ligue Magnus, the Eagles of Nice were traveling to Grenoble. Against one of the title favorites, Nice had nothing to be ashamed of.
A top-of-the-table duel. We may not have the chance to say this again, but for this second day of the championship, the leader faced the third place. Buoyed by their opening victory, both teams hit the ice full of confidence.
Logically given as favorites, the Brûleurs de Loup struck first in the third minute of play. Benefiting from a power play, François Beauchemin gave Grenoble the lead. Despite several infractions by Grenoble leading to two-minute penalties, Nice was unable to level the score. Frantisek Stolc’s team was caught off guard upon returning from the locker room. Théo Gueurif doubled the lead and put his team in a safe position. The task then seemed very complicated for the Eagles.
Prideful Response from the Eagles of Nice
Except that, much like against Chamonix last week, Nice wasn’t going to give up anything. Nicolas Ruel reignited the match five minutes later (2-1). The newly arrived forward from Marseille was well assisted by Taavi Tiala, who was already a passer last week.
At the end of the second period, Nice found themselves once again shorthanded. But while the door seemed wide open for Grenoble to increase their lead, it was Marek Sloboda who proved decisive for the Eagles (2-2). Having already been a double assist maker last weekend, the Slovak turned into a scorer, well supported by Teemu Loizeau. Everything was up for grabs before the final period.
The match got tense, and Nice struggled to get past a well-organized defense and a goalkeeper in great form. The Niçois attempted to bring down their opponents, notably with quick counter-attacks and some good play phases in the offensive zone, but it wasn’t enough to unbalance Grenoble. The two teams found themselves in overtime. The Eagles seemed more physically challenged and struggled to maintain the pace. Ultimately, it was the Brûleurs de Loup who had the final say in the third minute of overtime.
Nice thus lost (3-2) but showed that despite a significantly revamped roster, the group was capable of producing great things on the ice. They will need to react on Friday for the visit of Marseille at the Jean-Bouin ice rink. Kick-off at 8 PM.
