Victorious in the last Riviera Cup, the Nice ice hockey team was defeated at home on the first day of the Ligue Magnus against Grenoble, the reigning French champion (2-4).
It couldn’t have started worse for the Niçois. Even though the Eagles were not favorites, they wanted to put on a good performance against the Brûleurs de Loups of Grenoble. However, the latter gave them a hard time and logically won with a score of 4-2, even though the home team held their ground for 40 minutes.
Nice assertive in the first two acts
Against all odds, Nice opened the scoring at the Jean Bouin Ice Rink through Peter Hrehorcak Jr. The ultras in the stands celebrated and sang. The applause resonated. The Eagles found themselves on the right track (1-0; 3rd minute).
But things weren’t so easy. After conceding the first goal of the game, Grenoble stepped up the pace, playing very high and aggressive pressing. After a penalty was given to Loïc Chabert, the visitors managed to exploit their numerical advantage and equalized with 14 seconds left in the first third. (1-1)
In the second round, the Azuréens continued to suffer from the Grenoblois game. Both teams found themselves with one player less each. Chabert, who had previously been penalized, redeemed himself by scoring the 2-1 goal after a service from Radomir Heizer.
The Southerners crumble in the third round
Despite the score favoring the Niçois, it was indeed the net of Rok Stojanovic (Nice) that was being besieged. The 2020 French champions drove the point home and scored two quick goals. This was met with boos from the crowd, unhappy with the referee’s decision to award the goal to Grenoble when Martin Matejicek was injured in the middle of the action.
Thanks to a double from Kyle Hardy, the Brûleurs de Loups led 3-2 at Jean-Bouin. Faced with the realism and aggressiveness of the Grenoblois, the Niçois attempted in vain to equalize with long-range shots. With two minutes left in the game, everyone moved forward into the visitors’ territory to snatch the equalizer. But on a recovery, Edo Terglav’s men launched a counter-attack that led to a fourth goal, synonymous with victory. (2-4; 19th minute)
Nice thus bowed out in their first Ligue Magnus match against a tough Grenoble team. For their next match, the Azuréen club will try to bounce back during their away game at Anglet on September 29th.
