Party Boys spoil Nordiques streak Published March 12, 2010 By John Stuart Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Whether the Nordiques knew it or not, they had invisible targets on their backs from the moment they stepped on the ice Sunday. Tinker was up against the goonish Party Boys, who the Nordiques had beaten in the league championship game two consecutive years. Although it was regular season play March 7, the Party Boys were hungry for revenge as manifest in their chippy lingo and over-the-top cheap shots against the Nordiques. Tinker went up early against the Party Boys but fell 8-5 in the end to the brute squad, settling their record at 12-3-1 for the season. Chris Beatty netted the first goal for Tinker, putting them up early in the first period. But the Party Boys popped the top on a can of mojo and answered back with two goals of their own to close out the period. It was the Party Boys again in the second period as they found the net in the opening minutes of play. The rest of the period was quiet on the scoreboard, and anything but tranquil on the ice. Referees handed out penalty time aplenty to both sides as things heated up and gloves hit the ice. The Party Boys, known to test the limits of the league's "no-check" rules, lived up to their caricature. But late in the second, forward Bryson Harley found purchase on a wrap-around goal to close out the period. Tinker relinquished a goal to the Party Boys early in the third period but the Nordiques were still in the running with plenty of sand in the hourglass before game's end. At 12:50, Beatty wove his second goal into the net on a long shot from the point. Cheers came from the Nordiques bench and they knew a W wasn't out of sight. But the Party Boys rubbed their genie bottle once again and answered back with two wish-induced goals. Jason Stefanski countered with a goal of his own at 6:30 and Jim Behn found the back of the net at 1:05. The Party Boys had two counterpoints in the final minutes, though, and netted a pair of goals to ice their win. It was defeat for Tinker, at the sticks of the league's most notoriously brash team. But the Nordiques will be back to face the tuxedo-theme uniformed troupe in the playoffs. Tinker had most skaters back on the ice Sunday, but are reforming after the handful of players returned from Canada where they provided Olympic air support in the previous weeks. "We came off the Olympic break, and like most teams we are in a bit of a slump," said Tinker's Jim McCarron. "We played their game tonight, and we were down a few players against the second best team in the league."