A few days after their elimination from the French Cup, Nice’s Eagles defeated Gap. A clearly deserved victory given the control displayed by the Nice hockey players. With five goals this evening and solid defense, the Maralpins are back on track in the championship in front of a galvanized Jean-Bouin ice rink.
This Friday evening at the Jean-Bouin ice rink, Nice’s Eagles hosted Gap’s Raptors for the 11th day of Ligue Magnus. Positioned in the middle of the table in 6th place, the Nice team were looking to bounce back in front of their home crowd after a defeat in the French Cup midweek on Mont-Blanc ice (6-3) and a heavy defeat last Friday against Grenoble (7-1). On the other side, Gap traveled with the firm intention to get back on track. Eleventh in the standings, the visitors came off a tight loss in overtime against Anglet, although they had secured qualification for the French Cup on Tuesday.
In full regalia and sporting a touch of pink for the Pink October campaign, Marc-André Lévesque’s men made no mistake in their debut in front of a packed Jean-Bouin ice rink. In a grand-occasion atmosphere, the start of the match proved particularly fast-paced. After the beginning of the period marked by decisive interventions from Alexis Shank, solid in his line, the Eagles demonstrated their offensive realism. The championship’s sixth-ranked attack managed to break through Gap’s defense by scoring two goals within two minutes. Maxime Toukmatchev first opened the scoring in the 6th minute, assisted by John Druskinis and Samuel Regis, before John Druskinis converted himself into a goalscorer and extended the lead two minutes later on a combined service from Alexandre and Mathieu Gagnon. On defense, Nice’s Eagles held firm to preserve this advantage. Masters of their game, the Nice team returned to the locker room at the end of a controlled first period closed out with a two-goal lead.
Nice seals the victory
The second period began at a choppier pace, marked by a reaction from the visitors. At the 6th minute, Gap managed to narrow the gap with a goal by Kim Nieminen. Despite increasingly oppressive Nice offensive pressure, Marc-André Lévesque’s men initially stumbled against the opposing defense, lacking precision in the final touch. It took until mid-way through the second period for the situation to break open. Capitalizing on a power play and a perfectly negotiated engagement, John Druskinis scored his second goal of the evening, assisted by Rolands Vigners and Fletcher Anderson, to give his team some breathing room. Rewarded by engaged physical play and constant pressure that disrupted the Gap collective, the Eagles even benefited from a penalty shot in the 15th minute, following a foul suffered by Édouard St-Laurent as he was heading alone to goal. Although the Nice number 4’s attempt didn’t find the back of the net, Nicholas Cherkowski assisted by Henrick Rommel and Samuel Regis added to the scoreboard before the end of the period, bringing the score to 4-1.
The home team maintained their grip on the match, allowing them to return to the locker room once again with a three-goal lead before facing the final period.
A final period that began in a disadvantageous position. Solid in contact and impeccable in defensive solidarity, Marc-André Lévesque’s men smothered the opposition’s attacks. Offensively, they then pushed to deliver the fifth goal to their crowd, sometimes running into a lack of precision or the vigilance of the opposing goaltender. At the 13th minute, just after a power-play sequence, salvation finally came from a collective movement. Rolands Vigners, assisted by Fletcher Anderson and an omnipresent Samuel Regis this evening, sealed the match’s fate (5-1). By locking down the end of the match with authority, Nice wins decisively after a controlled performance from start to finish.
Marc-André Lévesque: “We go back to war on Sunday“
After a controlled match, the Nice coach didn’t hide his relief following a difficult period marked by elimination in the French Cup against Mont-Blanc on Tuesday. “It was more than necessary to react. The Cup was an objective, we missed it, but we had to turn the page and refocus on the championship. This evening, the victory does us good. What we lacked in recent matches was this physical intensity and defensive solidarity. We proved we were capable of it, now we need to repeat these performances in every match“, emphasized Marc-André Lévesque. Carried along by a crowd once again on fire at Jean-Bouin where Nice’s Eagles display a remarkable record, the Nice team must now transpose this momentum away from home. A challenge all the more pressing as the two teams will cross paths again as soon as Sunday on Gap ice. “We have the same schedule as them, they’re traveling this evening. Tomorrow is rest, and then we go back to war on Sunday”, concluded the coach.
With this victory, Nice’s Eagles pocket their 5th home win of the season in 6 matches, enough to satisfy the Nice crowd. But no time to rest for the Maralpins they have an appointment on Sunday against their evening opponent. Kick-off at 6:30 p.m. at the Alp’Arena.
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