Story of VGK fan punched after Dallas game reached Knights; Stars fans hoping to help

By Shawna Khalafi

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    LAS VEGAS, Nevada (KVVU) — A Vegas Golden Knights fan says he was sucker-punched by a stranger after the game in Dallas on Wednesday night, leaving him with extensive injuries to his face and jaw.

Now, he’s on a mission to find the person who caused him all this pain.

VGK fan Jason Bowen says he grabbed a drink with his fiancé after the game, and they were waiting for an Uber outside American Airlines Center—both wearing VGK gear—when some words were exchanged with a few Dallas fans.

Then, he says a stranger came up from behind and hit him in the face, sending him to the pavement—and to the hospital.

“While they were talking to me in my face, this guy came out of nowhere and just clobbered me. That was it,” he said.

Jason thinks this aggression may have stemmed from the growing rivalry between the Knights and Stars.

Last year, during Game 3 of the Western Conference Final in Dallas, some rowdy Stars fans threw bottles on the ice in the final seconds of the second period, as the Knights led 4-0. The Stars later apologized for the actions of their fans.

Now, the teams are facing off in the playoffs once again.

“I do know the Vegas Knights got a big rivalry now, and the whole thing with Stone going back and forth, so I do think that Dallas fans probably don’t like the Knights as much,” said Jason. “I don’t know if that contributed to it, or if they were just angry.”

Jason says the group ran away before police arrived. So, he posted in a Dallas Stars fan group on Facebook, asking for help tracking down the person who punched him.

He said the response has been positive—Stars fans saying they don’t want this one violent person representing their fan base.

“I have a lot of friends who are Dallas Stars fans. They’re good people. I have some of them that are helping me out quite a bit trying to find who this is. So, I got on there and it kind of went viral from there. Everybody’s been trying to locate who this guy is,” he said.

The VGK’s assistant equipment manager even heard about the attack and reached out to Jason personally, wishing him well. He says the team is also sending him an autographed Marchessault hockey stick and other VGK merch for the dedicated fan.

Dallas police confirmed that they responded to the injury call around 1 a.m. Thursday, a few hours after the game. However, police did not confirm if they’re searching for a suspect.

FOX5 put in a request for the full police report for this incident, but we’re still waiting for that to be processed.

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