Ice hockey: Division 3 – Division 3: 1st day: Dijon vs Chlons-en-Champagne – Messire le Duc strikes and wins

Photographer: Philippe Rouinssard

Châlons en Champagne against, Le Pezron alone misses the goal. The Gauls remain dangerous in front of the local network but Krofta is solid. On a good one against Dijon he broke the bank. Chabert serves Durin who enters the area and shoots on goal, the rebound in the corner fell to the bottom from Strömbäck (1-0 at 10’52).
The game is balanced on a good pace. The Dukes continue their solitary offensives, Stoll takes it twice but his shot is each time rejected by the Marne goalkeeper. Châlons gradually regains control of the puck and accelerates. Krofta holds firm, Neuwirth receives a 2 + 2 for a contact in the offensive zone. The Gauls settle down and spin the disc but fail to equalize before the first siren sounds.

Penalty shootout : 15/12 for Châlons in Champagne
Engagements : 8/8

Dominating is not winning:

Châlons returns to powerplay and increases his pressure, a new fault falls on the helmet of the locals. On three against five the situation becomes complicated, Krofta is on all fronts and manages to save the ship caught in the storm of launches. Holodkovs runs through the cage and pulls, Krofta in a split still manages to push back.
Returning to parity, Dijon relaunches its counterattacks. Chabert tries but Brun intervenes. The Dukes are satisfied but are penalized immediately afterwards. Holodkovs alone cannot beat the native of Česká Lípa. The rigor is killed again, the locals go back to coal again. Mahier in the middle of the zone finds his good reflexes and hits the goal of Châlons (2-0 at 27’22).
Châlons en Champagne returns to dry cleaning. Krofta multiplies the saves, but his defense once again to the absent members, forget it, after more than three rebounds, Girardin finally manages to put the puck behind the line, the Czech on the ground alone, is beaten (2-1 al 27 ’50).

Photographer: Philippe Rouinssard

They try to find the flaw with a fast pace, but the goalkeeper blocks. Holodkovs throws him out the door. Mikula collects the rebound and pushes into the corner, but Krofta has already plugged the hole. A penalty of the guests loosens the grip. Ducal powerplay is completely off target and doesn’t launch even once every two minutes!
The Gauls leave, Sokolov inserts Pernot into the slot but his deviation goes further. Holodkov’s guns, but this time the disc hits the pole. The local defense completely overwhelmed sinks, fortunately for her the goalkeeper remains alert and lucky. On Holodkovs’ counterattack, the Latvian’s shot hits the crossbar. Mikula sees his attempt deflected by Krofta. A penalty from Dijon is whistled right at the end of the third.

Penalty shootout : 18/7 for Châlons in Champagne
Engagements : 10/8 for Châlons in Champagne

Lord the Duke does the right thing:

The Gauls attack the third in numerical superiority, despite their attempts fail to equalize. Dijon also back to five is cornered on the defensive. The Châlonnais master the puck and remain on the offensive, the Burgundian defense and its spinning goalkeeper clean up and manage to hold out.
As usual, Dijon launches lone counterattacks that just fail. The locals hold and begin the counter-offensive. This is not very effective but it allows you to breathe a little and change the pressure of the field.
Girardin reverses the times but alone against the local Cerberus he loses the duel. Dijon is penalized again, the game is complicated. Yet it is in the inferiority that liberation will come. Strömbäck manages to recover the puck from the blue, crosses the offensive zone of Châlons, with a perfect shot clears the skylight (3-1 at 51’45).

Photographer: Philippe Rouinssard

Guests take their downtime and start over because they are in superiority. Matejka in the slot still clashes with the Czech goalkeeper. The Dukes manage to return to attack and recover a powerplay, they control the puck in the offensive zone but do not throw. Thery, released from prison, breaks two against zero with a friend, the passes are exchanged from one side to the other, but Krofta flies away and once again pushes the puck away.
The Dukes still propose some attempts like Neuwirth in a corner that stumbles on Brun. The end of the match is dominated by Châlons en Champagne. The guardian goes out to cause a final overcrowding. Mahier recovers and finds Durin who throws himself towards the empty cage, Goncalves darkens, he throws himself to touch the puck but too late, it enters the goal (4-1 at 59’41).

Checkmate, the dukes fight the Gauls for this first match of the D3 season.

Penalty shootout : 11/9 for Châlons in Champagne
Engagements : 8/7 for Châlons in Champagne

Etoiles Hockey Hebdo:

***: Michal Krofta
**: William Strömbäck
*: Maoh Durin

The Dukes win comfortably at home for the opening of the championship, but the score does not represent the face of the game. Dijon had to face very dangerous and dominant Galli for most of the match. Led by an exceptional goalkeeper with his 43 saves, the Burgundians also knew how to score at the right time and make the most of their chances. However, they will have to strengthen their defense and limit fouls to avoid getting into trouble. Logically they take the lead in Group C. Next week Dijonnais will host Etoile Noire de Strasbourg, who will play the first round of the Coupe de France in P1, a colossal step to overcome for Roy’s men. The Dukes will return to the D3 on 8 October for a trip to Compiègne.
Châlons en Champagne offered an excellent match in all areas of the game, but the Gauls clearly lost in Dijon, despite their combinations, their numerous powerplay and their attempts, they could not counter an imperial goalkeeper who disgusted them. They will have to close ranks next week for the reception of Reims (2P) for a derby raised in the first round of the Coupe de France. The championship will return on 8 October, Châlons will move to Metz for the second day.–

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