For this 42nd day of the Ligue Magnus played in advance, the Eagles of Nice defeated the Bordeaux Boxers (4-1) this Friday at the Jean Bouin ice rink. A hard-fought victory after a long absence from the championship.
It couldn’t have restarted better. The Nice Hockey Elite Eagles, ranked 5th, won 4-1 at home against the Bordeaux Boxers. A victory achieved with difficulty in the third period against the Bordelais, who gave Nice a challenging game.
This success comes at the right time for the men of Stanislav Sutor. The locals, in a power play, quickly opened the scoring in the 7th minute, through Ondrej Kopta after excellent work by Radomir Heizer and Peter Hrehorcak Jr (1-0; 7th). No other goals were scored until the second period.
The Niçois tried in vain to score the separating goal. Instead, Bordeaux’s defenseman and captain, Maxime Moisand, equalized for his team in the 42nd minute. Everything had to be redone for both teams, but for Nice, it was only postponed.
In another power play, Nice quickly regained control thanks to Tomas Knotek. The red and black number 91 allowed his team to lead (2-1), four minutes into the final period. After ten tight minutes, the Eagles were still not safe from a second equalizer by Bordeaux. Fortunately, the team could count on its Czech international, Ondrej Kopta, who sealed the deal with a double five minutes before the end (3-1; 55th).
The task became too daunting for the visitors, who conceded a fourth goal at the very end of the match. Heizer, already a decisive assist, turned into a scorer (4-1; 59th). The referee blew the final whistle on this flattering score (4-1) in favor of Nice Hockey Elite, which recorded its fifth victory in nine championship games this season.
With this new success, Nice climbs to second place in the Ligue Magnus standings with 15 points. The Azuréens thus become the new runner-up to the undefeated leader, Rouen. Bordeaux is fifth, tied with Amiens (12 points), and will seek revenge against this same Nice team at the Mériadeck Ice Rink in four days.
