This evening, the Eagles of Nice experienced a magical interlude. In the Coupe de France, Frantisek Stolc’s men overcame a dominant Marseille team.
The Eagles appear unstoppable. After three consecutive victories, the team from Nice faced the Coupe de France this Tuesday. A competition where anything is possible. The Azuréans understood this well. Against Marseille, the hockey players from the Côte d’Azur were not the favorites. Since the beginning of the season, the head-to-head results have favored Marseille (2-1).
In a well-filled Palais Omnisports, the Spartans opened the scoring through Yohan Coulaud. Taking the lead was logical as the local team had managed to create the most opportunities.
The game turns
In the second period, the score could have worsened without the performance of Conrad Molder. Starting again, the Nice goalkeeper played magnificently. With 27 saves throughout the match, the Estonian shone. And it was finally against the run of play that Nice equalized thanks to their captain Marc André Levesque. The Canadian defender also had an outstanding match. However, the Nice team conceded a goal in the 33rd minute while short-handed. Paul Joubert took advantage and restored Marseille’s lead (2-1).
But the game opened up. Four minutes later, Jules Lefebvre managed to equalize again, well assisted by Nicolas Ruel and Taavi Tiala (2-2 at the 36th minute). Marseille pushed hard to regain the lead but was caught off guard five seconds before the final break. Julien Msumbu sent the puck into the net guarded by an uninspired Floriant Gourdin that night (2-3).
The last twenty minutes mirrored the first forty, minus the goals. Despite numerous opportunities, Marseille didn’t manage to deceive the vigilance of Conrad Molder again. Hence, the Eagles of Nice secured their qualification for the quarter-finals (2-3) and recorded their fourth consecutive victory.
It had been a while since the Eagles had celebrated such success. While waiting to learn the name of their next opponent in the Coupe de France, they now need to focus on the Ligue Magnus. This Friday, the Nice team will travel to Chamonix for a match against a direct playoff rival. Kick-off is scheduled for 8:05 PM.
