Nice Hockey gave no chance to Valence on Saturday night. A sixth consecutive victory further solidifying the Eagles in the 2nd place of the French Division 1 championship standings.
The Niçois won 10 – 5 against Valence, the bottom team in the French Division 1 championship standings. The match was very fast-paced and the contacts relatively strong. Beyond the duels, this match was a real goal fest: the 750 spectators did not have time to get bored!
A mixed first third
In this first part of the match, both teams responded to each other quickly. The Niçois opened the scoring in the 5th minute, with a shot from Stefan Majernik. Eric Bochna responded 3 minutes later. Karri Koivu quickly replied and Alexis Pelisse allowed the Lynx to equalize. The Azuréens were not delivering their best game at that time. Both teams returned to the locker room with this score: 2 – 2.
The Eagles break away
In the second third, the Eagles fully took control of the match. They scored two back-to-back goals in the first few minutes, thanks to Jozef Slaninak (21st) and Stefan Rusnak (22nd). Karri Koivu and Stefan Rusnak further widened the gap in the 28th and 31st minutes. Jimmy Lundberg stopped some fine Valentinois shots. However, Alexis Pelisse managed to deceive the Niçois goalkeeper and brought his team back to 6 – 3 before the break.
The Lynx finished off
From the start, Franck Fulop and Jozef Slaninak crucified the Valence goalkeeper, Jérémy Valentin. Stan Sutor took the opportunity to bring in the young Niçois goalkeeper, Kévin Fouassier. He performed very well: only Mathieu Bidoli and Guillaume Réveillon managed to find the Azuréens’ net. Stefan Rusnak and Stefan Majernik ultimately finished off the Lynx with a severe 10 – 5.
This match allowed Stan Sutor to rotate the squad. Now, the Niçois are focusing on their trip to Courbevoie, ranked 8th in the standings.
