Missed Chances Hurt Knoxville in 3-1 Loss
SPHL Knoxville Ice Bears

Missed Chances Hurt Knoxville in 3-1 Loss

Published on January 9, 2026 under SPHL (SPHL)
Knoxville Ice Bears News Release


Knoxville piled up scoring chances down the stretch, but couldn't get enough offense to mount a comeback as the Ice Bears fell 3-1 to the Marksmen at Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville Friday night.

Fayetteville jumped out in front early when Blake Holmes put back a rebound from the left circle just 44 seconds into the game. Noah Giesbrecht kicked away a shot from the right wing with the pad and Holmes threw it back on net from the opposite circle.

The Marksmen added to their lead when Sam Dabrowski scored on a breakaway at 9:32 of the second. Shane Murphy put a one-timer from the left circle past Giesbrecht less than two minutes later to give Fayetteville a 3-0 advantage at the second break.

Hlib Varava scored for Knoxville at 14:31 of the third with a one-timer from the slot. Eric Olson and Carson Vance won a battle along the boards in the left wing corner and Vance slid a pass to Varava, who teed off on the puck to beat Mason Beaupit for his first goal in his Ice Bears debut against his former team.

Giesbrecht finished with 21 saves. Beaupit stopped 32 shots for Fayetteville.

The two teams will reconvene Saturday night in Fayetteville.

Check out the Knoxville Ice Bears Statistics

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SPHL Stories from January 9, 2026


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