Nice Hockey falls 6-3 at home against Tours, marking their second consecutive defeat. It’s the first time this season that the club from the Côte d’Azur has experienced such a streak. After the 21st matchday, Nice finds itself in fourth place behind Nantes. The leading duo of Bordeaux and Anglet is pulling away. Caution against complacency.
The match starts with a lot of intensity. The goalkeepers are particularly tested. The first to concede is the Nice goalkeeper. The puck lingers in front of his goal and Saint André, a Tours player, pushes it into the net (9th minute, 0-1). The Nice team doesn’t have time to doubt. A brilliant play from Vojsovic and Brejka is finished by the No. 10 of the Eagles, Stefan Klimek (10th minute, 1-1). Nice Hockey could have even taken the lead two minutes later through Rehak, who deflects a shot from Visnak, but the referee disallows the goal for a high stick. Both teams display good play in this first period, ending with a score of 1-1.
As they return from the locker rooms, just thirteen seconds into the second period, Nice is surprised and Lovatsis restores the lead for the Tours Remparts (20th minute, 1-2). Nice shows resilience and replicates the first period. No time to ponder, Nice equalizes after a cross from Vojsovic, volleyed in by the unstoppable Stefan Klimek, scoring his second (21st minute, 2-2). Tours then capitalizes on a huge blunder by Nice’s goalie, Sedlacek, who misses the puck with his stick, to retake the lead. The opportunist is Vepsalainen (22nd minute, 2-3). The Tours Remparts secure their position after a nicely orchestrated attack, with Domin finishing it off (24th minute, 2-4). The score doesn’t change in this second period where everything happened in the first four minutes.
At the start of the third period, Samuel Aquin scores, offering his team a glimmer of hope. A sublime slalom, especially impressive given that his team was shorthanded due to a foul by Lacheny, who was serving a two-minute penalty (46th minute, 3-4). The game resumes after a brief pause for bleeding, and Tours takes advantage of their power play to regain a two-goal lead. Eischen completes a well-executed two-on-one play by the Remparts (56th minute, 3-5). As the end of the match approaches, two Tours players receive penalties. To everyone’s surprise, with Tours down to three players on the ice against five from Nice, they manage to drive the final nail in with a goal by Jones (59th minute, 3-6). Nice Hockey is demoralized.
The Eagles will travel next week to Mont-Blanc’s ice to rediscover the taste of victory and, most importantly, keep in mind the goal of a Top 4 finish that guarantees a home advantage in the quarter-finals.
Kevin Chifflet
