Nice had a scare but is now 60 minutes away from the title. The Eagles led 2-0 for a long time before the Basques came back to draw 2-2 and take it to overtime. At the end of a suspenseful game and penalty shootout, Nice Hockey clinched a second victory in two days, all in an incredible atmosphere.
Before the start of the game, the ever-present supporters treated the players to a surprise they won’t soon forget. The entire stand was beneath a tifo in Nice’s colors. This set the mood for their team, as explained by captain Aurélien Macon, “It was incredible, when we hit the ice, we’re facing the tifo. Where else in France do you see that in a rink? It was super motivating; it pumped us up entirely.”
Straight into the match
The match barely began, and Nice Hockey put pressure on the opposing goal. The Niçois were immediately rewarded by a superb shot into the top corner by Misura, opening the score as they did yesterday. (1-0, 1’31’’)
For the rest of the first period, Aurélien Macon’s teammates continued their domination up to the buzzer. Anglet managed to create a few chances, but keeper Sedlacek stayed focused, as usual. “He played a great game,” declared coach Stan Sutor, an assertion already heard the previous day following their 3-2 victory.
Maintaining seriousness
Back from the locker room, Nice Hockey didn’t change their approach and continued attacking. Aurélien Macon even missed an unmissable opportunity two minutes into the play. Moments later, the play of the night came from Yoanne Lacheny. While shorthanded, Yoanne Lacheny broke away and pulled off a “wrap-around” (going around the cage then putting the puck in the net) to score the second goal (2-0, 27’44”). This exceptional move was celebrated by the entire team and ignited the crowd at Jean Bouin even more. After the match, the scorer couldn’t quite explain his gem: “Even I don’t know how I did it! Maybe it’s the euphoria of the final. I didn’t think while doing it.”
Full of regrets
In the final period, Anglet returned to the ice with different intentions. L’Hormadi managed to reduce the score 12 minutes before the end through Benjamin Lagarde, who pushed the puck between Sedlacek’s legs (2-1, 48’47’’). Nice Hockey then tried to hold the score but conceded again against a resurgent Anglet team. Nice found themselves shorthanded and this time were punished. Thomas Baubriau scored just before the final buzzer (2-2, 58’25’’).
Into overtime after 60 minutes didn’t allow the two teams to separate. Nice Hockey began to tremble, as explained by Yoanne Lacheny: “When they equalized, we got really scared. We knew we could do it, we’re at home. As we said in the locker room: ‘Here, no one comes to win.’ In our heads, we knew we were going to win no matter what. But I admit we doubted a bit.”
Heading to penalty shootouts
During overtime, each team plays with one fewer hockey player. Players thus have more space to express themselves, but also have to put in more effort to defend. Nice and Anglet had chances to take the lead, to no avail. The penalty shootout was inevitable.
Before a raucous crowd, players took turns shooting. Anglet started, Andre Mathieu and faced a very strong Sedlacek. Nice responded, Milan Varga took the puck and sent a missile into Anglet’s goal. (1-0). That would be the only goal of the shootout. Hormadi Anglet’s Benoit Ladonne and Thomas Rubes missed their attempts, while Matej Hamrak from Nice failed.
With two victories to zero, Nice Hockey can win the title as early as Tuesday, much to the delight of coach Stan Sutor: “If before the two confrontations someone had told me we’d win both games at home, we would have signed with both hands. Now, we’re on the right track, it’s really good. We need to finish. We’ll recover well and see on Tuesday.” For his assistant Pascal Margerit, “the pressure is now on Anglet’s shoulders.”
The Nice team heads to the Basque Country for a game, hoping everything goes as perfectly as possible. This Saturday at 10:30 PM (yesterday), Nice Hockey has covered two-thirds of the journey towards the Division 1 title.
Kevin Chifflet
