For this 40th day of the Magnus League, the Eagles of Nice traveled to Anglet. The Nice team, tied for 9th place in the standings, faced the 11th-ranked team. A crucial match to avoid the Play-out.
After their home victory on Tuesday night against Cergy-Pontoise, the Eagles of Nice were determined to secure another win. The goal was to keep control of their destiny and move out of the relegation zone. On Anglet’s side, sitting 11th in the standings, the Play-out seems already inevitable with only four games left in the regular season.
A thrilling start
Just two minutes into the game and Nice opened the scoring thanks to Bryan Sautereau. A perfect start for the Eagles. Anglet responded and settled in the Nice’s end. The Basques faced a solid defense. In a power play situation, the red and blacks regained the upper hand and scored a second goal through Jesper Larinmaa after only seven minutes of play. Seconds later, Anglet narrowed the gap with a goal from Craig Puffer.
The pace was intense. The puck moved from one end to the other. The intensity did not drop. In a strong phase for Nice, Yevgeni Nikiforov scored the Eagles’ third goal. A nice shot through the goalkeeper’s legs. A flurry of goals after just ten minutes of the match. Nice successfully resisted their numerical disadvantage. No goals conceded while the team played 3 against 5. Anglet could not find an opening. The two teams traded blows, dominating in turn. The Basques reduced the score in the 16th minute with Samuel Rousseau. Nice ended this first period ahead (3-2).
A controlled match
In this second period, the pace changed entirely. Both teams decreased their intensity. The initial frenzy gave way to a defense-offense strategy. Nice was content to maintain their lead and counter-attack. The Eagles found themselves down a player starting from the 3rd minute. Luckily for them, it had no consequence. Anglet squandered a good chance to equalize. Nice managed the situation and took advantage of another power play to score a fourth goal in the 10th minute. The second for Larinmaa.
Unfortunately, once again, it only took a few seconds for the Basques to narrow the gap thanks to Philips. The Eagles led (4-3). Despite Nice’s domination, Anglet demonstrated remarkable attacking efficiency. The red and blacks finally woke up in this second period. They regained control of the game, and Ivan Esipov scored a fifth goal. Shortly after, Mikael Kuronen added a sixth. The second period ended with Nice leading, holding a three-goal advantage (3-6).
Nothing was decided yet. Anglet put pressure on Nice’s goal from the first minutes of the last period. Despite their good defense, the Eagles conceded a goal from Puffer in the 5th minute, who secured a brace tonight. Nice endured the assault and focused on holding strong defensively. The few counter-attacks yielded nothing until the 17th minute, when Larinmaa scored again for a hat-trick. He sealed the outcome of the match. Nice won (7-4). A second consecutive victory. A positive sign for the remainder of the season. However, the Eagles remain tied for 9th place in the standings and in the Play-out zone.
Next match, Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. at home against Amiens.
