While traveling to Grenoble, the Eagles of Nice wanted to bounce back after two consecutive defeats. Mission failed for coach Stanislav Sutor’s protégés.
After two losses in a row, the Eagles of Nice, second in the standings, wanted to react in Grenoble against the Burners of Wolves (7th). A complicated mission, as the Isérois had won the first leg (2-4). A reaction was therefore expected from the teammates of captain Peter Hrehorcak.
A difficult first period
The Grenoble team takes possession of the puck at the start of the match. The Nice team counterattacks more. But both goalkeepers respond to every shot. Nevertheless, the pressure intensifies on the azure cage. Rok Stojanovic makes two close saves in seconds.
Nice suffers too much. The Eagles find themselves shorthanded. On the left side, Grenoble forward Aurélien Dair eliminates the defense with a clever move, then scores the first goal of the match with a low cross shot (1-0, 11th). But Grenoble does not stop, and the chances keep coming.
Benefiting from another power play, the Burners of Wolves’ American forward, Alex Aleardi, performs a masterstroke in the Eagles’ defense. Starting on the left side, he finds himself alone in front of the Nice goalkeeper. At the last moment, he perfectly shifts the attacker Sacha Treille to the opposite side for the goal to break away (2-0, 15th).
Grenoble secures its victory
The second period starts badly for Nice. They suffer the Isérois waves without being able to be genuinely dangerous in front of the opponents’ net. Worse, their chances of victory evaporate with this long-range shot from Canadian Yann Sauvé (3-0, 5th). The Grenoble defender gives his team a solid advantage.
Stunned by this third goal, the Eagles still try to move forward, following Peter Hrehorcak. The Slovak captain eventually reduces the gap with a long shot. His attempt is deflected, surprising the goalkeeper Lukas Horak (3-1, 15th). The suspense is rekindled, but not for long.
On a counter-attack by the Grenoble team, forward Damien Fleury deceives Stojanovic’s vigilance with a powerful mid-range shot (4-1, 16th). A few seconds later, Peter Valier takes advantage of the Eagles’ defense’s weaknesses. The Isérois forward goes face-to-face with the azure goalkeeper and surprises him with a top-corner shot (5-1, 17th).
React against Besançon
The third period is rather in favor of the Eagles, determined to catch up in the match or at least reduce the gap. The Burners of Wolves counterattack. Despite this, the Nice team fails to score, quite the opposite. The Grenoble team pushes forward again.
From the right side, Aneardi increases the score after a mid-range shot between Stojanovic’s legs (6-1, 8th). The Nice team finally saves their honor at the end of the match. Forward Antonin Dusek takes advantage of a poor clearance by Horak to score the final goal of the match (6-2, 15th).
The Eagles of Nice thus suffer a third consecutive defeat (6-2). Despite this, the Nice team still ranks second on the standings. Next week, Stanislav Sutor’s protégés must absolutely bounce back with the visit of the league’s bottom team, Besançon.
