A week after their last Magnus League game, the Eagles of Nice hosted Cergy-Pontoise. A direct competitor in the race for playoff qualification.
Dominating does not mean winning. The Niçois painfully discovered this tonight at the Jean Bouin ice rink. Yet the match had started well. Aggressive, the Maralpins forced their opponents to commit fouls. The American Alex Barber left his teammates short-handed twice in three minutes. Nice took advantage the first time to open the score. A goal by Taavi Tiala (8th minute). The Eagles did not let up the pressure. However, the Jokers quickly came back into the match. Against the run of play, Phileas Perrenoud and then Christopher Theodore gave the advantage back to the team from Île-de-France (2-1). A new lapse that hurt and allowed Cergy-Pontoise to lead at the end of the first period.
The rest of the match was more complicated for the Eagles. Although not very challenged, Raphaël Garnier conceded two more quick goals. First through Phileas Perrenoud (25th minute) who scored a double tonight. Then it was Raphaël Faure’s turn to shine four minutes later (1-4). Frantisek Stolc sensed his team was on the brink and attempted a tactical adjustment. The Azur goalkeeper was substituted by Conrad Molder. The home team steadied themselves. Adam Raska even managed to narrow the gap before the break. The Czech player scored his 5th goal in four matches. He would be involved again, allowing Taavi Tiala to score a double. However, the Jokers had netted a fifth goal just before… 3-5 then 3-6, the final score.
The verdict is in. Cergy-Pontoise left the French Riviera with the victory. A disappointment for the Niçois who slipped to 10th place in the Magnus League. Although the gap with the qualifying spots is not significant, the Eagles have played two more games than their rivals in the standings. From now on, there’s no room for error. Starting next Tuesday, they must return to winning ways, again at Jean Bouin, this time against Anglet. Kick-off is at 8 PM.
