On the account of the 3rd day of the French Elite championship, the Angels of Nice logically lost 7-2 to the Artzak of Anglet, the reigning double champions of France.
The task was already not looking easy, but the Angels had to cope with the injuries of Maxime Laval and Willy Valaize, as well as the suspension of Pierre Rodriguez.
From the start of the match, the Basques set the tone. Anglet monopolizes the puck and pins the people from Nice in their half of the field. But the Angels hold firm defensively, and their goalkeeper Roman de Préval is making saves.
After several minutes of fruitless domination, the Artzak find the weakness during their first powerplay situation (1-0, 9th minute). The Nice hockey players proceed on the counter and are offered some interesting opportunities until Anglet extends the lead with an individual action from Karl Gabillet (2-0, 17th minute). From that point, the Angels manage to get more control of the puck to put more pressure on the opposing goalie, and within less than a minute, Emmanuel Milano and then Charles André Outin bring the two teams level again (2-2, 21st minute).
The team from the Côte d’Azur holds this score until the break and enters the locker room with a rather flattering score.
The second half resumes like the first, with Anglet attacking and Nice defending vehemently. The Basque attacks pour onto the Nice goal, but Roman de Préval remains superb. The Angels stay patient and continue to play on the counter. But once again, it’s the lack of discipline that costs Thomas Fontana’s men dearly, as Anglet capitalizes on two more powerplays to make it 4-2 (32nd minute). Overwhelmed physically, the Angels gradually falter, conceding 3 more goals, including one more while down a player, before the end of the match. Final score: 7-2 for Anglet.
We could say the Angels of Nice were defeated logically. Certainly, Anglet was stronger that night and showcased their speed and enormous volume of play, but Nice shouldn’t be ashamed of this defeat. The Angels showed some beautiful plays, unfortunately not often enough. But above all, they showed that with their assets, namely patience, a solid defensive block, and a very good goalkeeper, they can hold their own against teams like Anglet. Now, with such a lack of discipline, conceding 4 goals from 5 shorthanded situations, it is unrealistic to think they can earn points against teams with such considerable offensive power.
The directive will be the same next week as the Angels of Nice will host the Devils of Rethel at the Magnan hall. The team of Thomas Fontana has one week to retain the best from this trip to the Basque territory and to address this chronic issue of indiscipline.
