For the 8th day of the Ligue Magnus, the Eagles of Nice were defeated by a stronger team.
The Nice team started their ninth match of the season within less than a month with high spirits. Indeed, they are the only team to have played so many matches at the beginning of the championship, due to rescheduling for the Champions League involving some opponents like Rouen. A team that Nice defeated three days earlier.
This victory brought hope that the Eagles would start their first winning streak of the season. And it began well since Frantisek Stolc’s men took the lead in the first period. A bit against the run of play, Hugo Proux scored his second goal of the season (0-1). The Nice player, who spent a season at Angers, is back at his original club, much to the delight of his teammates tonight. Because Nice is being dominated. Cergy Pontoise created more chances but were thwarted by Raphaël Garnier.
Nice maintained their lead until midway through the second period. As too often happens, the Nice team experienced a lapse which once again proved costly. The Eagles conceded a harsh (3-0) in the second period. In five minutes, the game completely turned around. Former Nice player, Louis Petit, opened the scoring for Cergy, assisted by another former teammate, Aurélien Dorey. Three minutes later, it was Nikita Shalei who deceived the Nice goalkeeper. Then Phileas Perrenoud turned into a scorer after two assists.
The Cergy Jokers returned to the locker room with a two-goal advantage (3-1). Upon resuming, the game became tense. Nice accumulated penalties, a symptom of a certain nervousness but above all a real desire to do well. However, Cergy Pontoise eventually took advantage on their fourth power play. The Canadian veteran Danick Bouchard dashed the Azurean team’s slim hopes in this match.
The final score is quite hard to take, (4-1) but not illogical. Nonetheless, it remains that Nice seems on the right path and capable of recovering. They now need to prove it at Anglet this Friday. Another club fighting for the last playoff spots.
