For the last home game of the season, the team from Nice suffered their third defeat in this relegation group. On an emotional note, it was the farewell of Aurélien Macon, who is retiring from professional ice hockey.
From the first few minutes, the Eagles set the pace and created several opportunities, particularly through Marion and Montenoise, both of whom were denied by the Alpine goalkeeper. However, after a largely avoidable puck loss at the entrance to their defensive zone, Josselin Besson gave his team the lead against the run of play (0-1, 5th minute). Hamrak could have equalized, but he missed his one-on-one. Chamonix-Morzine widened the gap thanks to Hascoet, who found the top corner of Charton’s net (2-0, 15th minute). Even though the Alpine team was less present offensively, they continued their momentum and stunned the Nice team (3-0, 17th minute).
The Azuréens started the second period strongly and hit the crossbar on their first foray into the offensive zone. Nice launched relentless attacks but failed to capitalize, with the towering goalie of the Pioneers holding the fort. A luxury that Nice, forced to concede again (4-0, 33rd minute), could not afford tonight. With continued effort, the Eagles got on the scoreboard with a shot from Vondracek (1-4, 37th minute).
The Red and Black team appreciated the start of periods. After only two minutes of play in the third period, Misura brought his team to within two goals of the Haut-Savoyards (2-4, 42nd minute). They continued to excite Jean Bouin by pressing their opponents. Despite the threat posed to the Alpine goal, the Eagles were unable to score the goal that would have revived their hopes. The supporters, in any case, did not lose their voices in thanking Aurélien Macon.
The team from Nice will complete their season next Tuesday in Strasbourg.
