2024-03-30 21:39:25
Facing the Brûleurs de Loups, French champions in 2022 and vice-champions in 2023, the Girondins won a new match on Saturday evening: 4-3, following Wednesday evening’s 3-2. To fold this series in five games once morest a team which played in the European Cup at the start of the season, and which aspired to play in the Champions Hockey League next season, is strong. Very strong ! And it will be necessary to be at least as much once morest Rouen, who crushed everything in their path during these play-offs.
Still ahead in the score
Even if the Girondins lost the match in statistics (21 shots on target in this match, compared to 36 for the Grenoblois), they were always in the lead in the score. And that’s where it comes into play. With an ideal scenario for them: from the 5th minute, Kevin Spinozzi deceived Jakub Stepanek (back in the Burners cage), with a shot from the blue following a face-off won in the offensive zone (0-1). Grenoble was already stunned… and would not be able to equalize in the first third.
The Isère reaction arrived in the 2nd period. With a first goal from Damien Fleury, a master shot to falter Papillon (25th); then a second, by the Czech Martin Latal, opportunistically deflecting a throw from Crinon (37th). But each time, it was to equalize… because Aina Benjamin Rambelo had managed in the meantime to deceive the Isère defense (27th).
A victory in the form of an exploit… celebrated with the ten Boxers supporters who came to Isère
An unbreathable third third
The suspense was total at the start of the last period (2-2)… and the tension was palpable. The Grenoble pressure cooker then exploded in less than three minutes. Mathieu Pompei surprised Grenoble once more, with a shot deflected by a Grenoblois into Stepanek’s cage (44th); in the process, Kyle Hardy relaunched his Brûleurs de Loups, with a shot from the edge of the ice (46th); but the Carry-Spinozzi duo immediately punished a moment of deconcentration from Grenoblois (47th).
The score was 3-4 and he wasn’t going to move anymore. Because Quentin Papillon – enormously solid throughout this series – was no longer going to give in. And because his teammates, showing enormous solidarity, stood together in front of him. A victory in the form of an exploit… celebrated from the final whistle with the dozen Boxers supporters who came to Isère. Their return to Gironde promises to be memorable!
The reaction
Kevin Spinozzi (Bordeaux defender): “We knew we had a special team. We had a lot of adversity throughout the season, with a lot of difficulties. We went for a final, it’s incredible. We haven’t had the easiest season, we’re really united. We are now going to challenge Rouen for the title. We did what we had to do and now anything can happen. We believe in it. We’re going to reenergize and go to Rouen.”
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