In this rescheduled match of the 23rd day of the Ligue Magnus, the Nice Eagles put an end to a series of six consecutive defeats, and this against the Rouen ogre!
At the start of the season, Rouen and Nice had already faced each other twice in rescheduled matches to allow the Rouen players to participate in the Champions League games, often scheduled at the same time as the Ligue Magnus. While the Eagles had lost the first confrontation in the final third two weeks ago, they took their revenge on the Dragons this time.
The game remained undecided for a long time, with a score of 0-0 during the first two periods, largely thanks to the exceptional performances of goalkeepers Raphaël Garnier (25 saves) and Oskari Setanen (27 saves). Both were named MVP of the match. It was finally in the 50th minute that the Nice team managed to break the deadlock thanks to their Slovak forward Marek Sloboda. Well assisted after significant work from Adam Raska and Leevi Karjalainen, he scored his second goal of the season. Towards the end of the game, Sloboda turned into a playmaker, enabling Teemu Loizeau to push the puck into the empty net in the final seconds, sealing the Eagles’ victory with a score of (2-0).
Thanks to this success, Nice enters the top 8, a nearly unexpected ranking given the recent results of the Eagles. Conversely, major teams like Rouen find themselves in difficulty, hindered by the succession of European matches.
The Nice team, however, will not have time to rest, as they continue as early as Tuesday with their third game in five days, this time away against Cergy-Pontoise. Kick-off is at 8:30 PM.
