For their last match of the year, the Eagles of Nice were scheduled to face a direct contender for the playoffs, Briançon. A match dictated by its stakes.
The Eagles of Nice were on the road at the rink of the Red Devils of Briançon this evening to conclude their year. The Hautes-Alpes team is in great shape at the end of 2025. Having been far behind in the standings for a while, they experienced an impressive month of December with four consecutive victories. On the Nice side, it was time to bounce back after two defeats against Anglet and then against Rouen.
At the start of the match, the Eagles monopolize the puck but get caught on a counterattack during one of Briançon’s first chances. Fredrik Stromgren manages to surprise Alexis Shank with a long shot from Kyle Pouncy, against the run of play (1-0).
The game becomes tense with dangerous actions on both sides. The referees are forced to take action to calm things down. Nice regains control of the puck and eventually scores on a counterattack. Colin Morillon initiates a shot deflected by Nice’s top scorer, Jesper Larinmaa, once again well-positioned in front of Briançon’s goal.
The Maralpins generally dominate the match and continue at the same pace in the second period. Five minutes in, Nicholas Cherkowski capitalizes on a beautiful counter-setup by Robin Johansson. The Canadian forward fakes out local goalie Griffen Outhouse. Nice logically takes the lead in this match and continues to put pressure on the Red Devils’ defense.
While the visitors were close to widening the gap, it’s Briançon who capitalizes on a power play to equalize. After two big opportunities, the third one finally hits the target. Alexis Shank is beaten by a shot from William Persson, smashed in front of Nice’s goalie by Norbert Abramov (2-2).
This doesn’t destabilize the Eagles of Nice, who go back on the offensive and regain the advantage just seconds after the equalizer. Henry McKinney deflects the puck into Briançon’s net to restore his team’s lead (2-3). The match opens up with chances raining down on both sides in the final moments of this second period, without anyone managing to score.
A costly relaxation for the Eagles of Nice
In the final period, the intensity drops a bit. Nice tries to control the puck more and slow down play. But in this subtle game, the Azuréens are caught off guard. In launching an attack too casually, the Niçois have the puck stolen by Yonis Penet, who goes one-on-one and beats the Eagles’ goalie. Nice pays a heavy price for its apathy in a game they had been dominating until that point.
Despite renewed ambition, Nice fails to turn things around. It’s off to overtime, their second in three matches.
While Alexis Shank held off the end for a long time in this very specific exercise, it’s indeed the Red Devils, being more pressing, who find the flaw. Matias Despatie runs circles around the Eagles’ defense and scores the winning goal thirty seconds before the end.
Final score (4-3 OT) with regrets for Pascal Margerit’s men, who didn’t deserve to lose tonight but end their 2025 with a third consecutive defeat. In the standings, Nice remains in 6th place in Ligue Magnus but is now closely followed by Briançon, with two games in hand and only five points behind the Niçois.
We’ll see the Eagles of Nice again on Friday against Marseille at Jean Bouin to try to get back on track. Kick-off at 8 PM.
