The Synerglace Ligue Magnus is changing its habits to close this year! After a day this Saturday, it is this Monday that the players are on deck, for the last time in 2024.
Photo credit: Fabien Baldino
Head south for a derby between the Spartans of Marseille, sixth, and the Aigles of Nice, seventh! After five losses in a row against the first five teams in the ranking, the Marseillais bounced back in the best possible way by winning at Cergy-Pontoise, with a score of 4-0 on the last day. Stefan Steen took the opportunity to achieve his first shutout. The Niçois are hardly in better shape with only four points taken in their last five meetings. They have no room for error so as not to let their evening opponent escape, one rank above, and six points more.
After the duel between the 6th and 7th, another direct confrontation takes place between Chamonix (9th, 32 pts) and Anglet (10th, 28 pts). By winning against Gap, Hormadi comes back to four points, but still has two more games. After two big successes at Cergy-Pontoise, then against Nice, the Chamoniards failed to follow up by losing 4-1 at Briançon. The confrontations between the two teams resulted in very balanced encounters this season. At Richard Bozon, the Angloys won 4-3 after penalties. At the Bar, the Pioneers took their revenge by achieving one of their four shutouts of the season, with a score of 1-0, after extra time.
Best attack, best defense, series of 15 consecutive victories, Grenoble is experiencing much more than an enchanted parenthesis in Synerglace Ligue Magnus. The Brûleurs de Loups seem untouchable or almost untouchable at the moment, with only three losses in their 29 days and 13 points more than their pursuer Angers. The task seems difficult for the Raptors, but their latest results have brought them closer to the play-offs, being only six points behind in this zone. To try to create the feat, they will also have the help of Ayden Macdonald, Canadian forward from Kalamazoo Wings, in the ECHL.
What if the Cergy-Pontoise Jokers ended their bad series to end 2024 well? This is what they will try to do on the ice of the Coliseum, they who have just had five defeats in a row, with zero points in the bag. Their statistics over these five matches are five goals scored for twenty conceded. They face a big opponent to get back on track with the Gothiques, fourth. The Amiens also left feathers in the last days, and saw the podium move away, ten lengths behind the third, Bordeaux. The Picards won the two confrontations against the Ile-de-France residents with scores of 2-1 and 1-4.
The Synerglace Ligue Magnus launches the New Year's Eve hostilities with a huge clash between the third Bordeaux, and its pursuer, Rouen. The Dragons have come back well in recent weeks with eight successes in the last ten matches, or 24 points taken. Only the Grenoble leader does better in this series. The Normans can count on the big season of Anthony Rech, author of 16 goals, joint top scorer in the league. The Boxers are not left out and can take a seven-point lead if successful. They have the support of a very solid defense, the second in the championship with 66 goals conceded, and the best goalkeeper, Quentin Papillon and his 93.77% of saved shots.
And the last match of the year 2024 in the championship is… Angers – Briançon! The Dukes are having a good season behind the juggernaut Grenoble with 64 points taken in 29 games, an average of around 2.21 points per match. Here again, they have just won four times, including successes against Rouen, fourth, and Bordeaux, third. The Red Devils of Briançon are still in last place but continue to gain ground, with only three points behind the eleventh Gap, and four on Anglet. Goalkeepers Matthew O'Connor (Angers) and Griffen Outhouse (Briançon) will be ones to watch, who already have two shutouts.
Program for Monday December 30
- Marseille – Nice (8:00 p.m.) (also broadcast on BFM Marseille and BFM Nice)
- Chamonix – Anglet (8:00 p.m.)
- Grenoble – Gap (20h15)
- Amiens – Cergy-Pontoise (8:15 p.m.)
- Bordeaux – Rouen (8:15 p.m.)
- Angers – Briançon (8:30 p.m.)
Useful links
TV/WEB PROGRAMMING
All matches of the season in the Synerglace Ligue Magnus are broadcast on the new platform: https://www.magnus.tv/fr/home. You can now take out a subscription to follow the entire championship!
