For this final day of the regular season, the Nice Eagles had an appointment in Rouen. A match of paramount importance for playoff qualification.
One point. One goal. That’s what the Ligue Magnus season came down to for the Nice Eagles. While all hopes were allowed despite the home loss to Bordeaux, the outcome was far from certain. Four clubs were competing for a playoff spot: Chamonix, Nice, Briançon, and Cergy-Pontoise. While the first seemed fairly confident in qualifying, the other three teams had a tough challenge ahead for the eighth and final qualifying spot.
While Briançon quickly faltered on the Bordeaux rink (8-3), the suspense was intense between Nice and Cergy-Pontoise. The Jokers even came close to touching qualification with their fingertips against Grenoble, leading for a few minutes against the leader of the Ligue Magnus.
For the Eagles playing away, things quickly became complicated. Against a very solid Rouen team (last year’s champions) having an impressive second half of the season, there wasn’t much to hope for. The Dragons quickly took control of the game. Their dominance was concretized in the 16th minute by a goal from Tomas Simonsen. The Rouen attacker even doubled the score right after the break before Sebastian Bengtsson sealed the game. At (3-0), Nice no longer had their fate in their hands. But Pascal Margerit’s men were determined to end this regular season well. Coming back notably in the third period, Nice still lost (4-2) and had to wait for the end of the Cergy-Pontoise match.
Grenoble qualifies the Eagles to meet them in the quarter-finals
Because the Jokers held the undisputed leader of the season to a draw. By pushing Grenoble to overtime, the matter was already settled for the Franciliens, who could only score two points. Insufficient to catch up in the rankings, especially since the Brûleurs de Loups quickly closed the match by scoring after only 40 seconds of play. As a result, Nice retains their eighth place with a slim one-point lead over Briançon and two over Cergy-Pontoise.
Often in a favorable position this season, the Eagles will have the opportunity to participate in the playoffs for the second consecutive year against… Grenoble. Needless to say, the task will be tough. But nothing is impossible!
The Eagles are thus scheduled for next Friday for their first playoff match against Grenoble. The first two games will take place away before the Eagles host in turn. The first team to reach four wins will qualify for the semi-finals.
