Riding high on their last four championship victories, the Eagles (7th) were confident for their home game against Gap (5th), but still fell 1-3 during the delayed 41st round of the Ligue Magnus.
In this crucial match for the playoff race, losing would be disastrous for the future! And the team from Nice understood this well. Despite a balanced start, it was the Eagles who dominated, displaying excellent puck control phases but failing to break through the Gap defense.
The Raptors mainly played on counter-attacks and punished their opponents’ inefficacy by opening the scoring through the French international player, Maurin Bouvet, in the 16th minute. The visitors led at the first break.
The Azureans responded as soon as the second period began, with Florian Sabatier equalizing for both teams in just 19 seconds. Despite this very quick goal, the period was closely contested. Gap was more aggressive but collided with Vilim Rosandic, who was having an outstanding night. Indeed, the Nice goalkeeper made numerous saves and even stopped a penalty at the 33rd minute, after Q.Scolari of the Eagles fouled a Gap player. Deadlocked, Eagles and Raptors returned to the locker rooms with a tied score.
The decision would thus happen during the third and final period. Nice, playing at home, had to win and did everything to gain the advantage. Unfortunately, they lacked efficiency and realism. This wasn’t true for the opposing team, as Canadian Jeff Brown gave his team the lead at the 45th minute. The Nice hockey players tried to spice up the end of the game to reach overtime.
In vain, following a charge by the NHE goalkeeper, Maurin Bouvet achieved a brace, finalizing the outcome of the match, and scoring the 1-3 goal in the empty net.
Nice lost the opportunity to close in on their opponent of the night and remain 7th in the standings.
Yassine Said Hassane
