For this 11th day of the Ligue Magnus, the Eagles of Nice faced off against the Raptors of Gap. In a match full of suspense, the Niçois missed the mark.
A match with twists and turns. That’s what the two teams offered us tonight. On one hand, Gap, once a stronghold of ice hockey, has struggled for several seasons. On the other hand, Nice, a team under construction aiming for the top in 4-5 years. The duel between these two teams has largely turned in favor of the Azuréens since last season (four consecutive victories).
To continue this beautiful statistic, the Eagles opened the scoring against the run of play. In a shorthanded situation, Nicolas Ruel deceives the Gap goaltender. The lead taken by the Niçois lasts only a minute as Dimitri Thillet equalizes. Gap makes a mistake at the end of the first period, offering Nice the opportunity to regain the lead. Filip Dvorak takes advantage and puts the puck in the opposing net (1-2).
Back from the locker room, the Raptors show a more proactive stance. Nice is on the backfoot and will pay for it when shorthanded. Arturs Mickevics equalizes (2-2). The Niçois barely create any chances. Gap continues its momentum and eventually takes the lead just before the break through Raphaël Chauvel. The Azuréens completely missed out in this second period.
Everything has to be done again, but nothing goes as planned. Twice, the Raptors beat Raphaël Garnier on the power play. Lucas Colombin and then Romain Gutierrez raise the score to (5-2) for the home team. Nice is no longer in it. Despite their goalie’s 27 saves, Frantisek Stolc’s men created only 11 chances in 40 minutes. Too few to hope for anything. But stung to the core, the Niçois react… too late. Julien Msumbu and then Adam Raska revive the suspense two minutes before the end.
Without success. Nice loses (4-5) despite ten quality minutes at the end. Insufficient, however, tonight. No time to dwell on it as the Niçois are already scheduled to meet in Grenoble tomorrow! A match that promises to be more than challenging…
