A last-minute goal from Adam Paiement helped Air Academy avoid a loss.

The Kadets forward scored with 37.7 seconds remaining, as Air Academy rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit behind a stingy penalty-kill unit to tie Lewis-Palmer 3-3 on Friday night at the Colorado Sports Center.

With Kadets goalie Marcus Harbison pulled for an extra attacker, Paiement took a drop pass from defenseman Cam Maceau and let a shot go. Rangers goalie Jesse Palmer made the save, but the Rangers (1-0-3) couldn’t clear the rebound. Paiement pounced on it and put it into the net.

“I got my second rebound and scored the goal,” Paiement said.

The Kadets (4-2-1) found themselves shorthanded seven times during the game. They twice killed off 5-on-3 power plays and yielded just one goal while down a man.

“To be down as much as we were and come out with a tie, to be down 3-1 down 5-3 a couple times … that’s all you work for, to play hard,” Kadets coach Dave Meisinger said.

For the second consecutive game, the Rangers failed to preserve a two-goal lead in the third. Lewis-Palmer blew a 2-0 lead to Cheyenne Mountain on Monday in a 2-2 draw.

“All of these ties feel like losses,” Rangers coach Steve Fillo said. “To come away with a tie, it’s not a moral victory for us.”

Jordan Fleming’s goal 4:11 into the third period looked to seal the game for the Rangers. But the Kadets drew within one when Erik Behr capitalized on a 2-on-1 on a pass from Jared Shuck just 34 seconds after Fleming’s goal.

Both teams had chances in the overtime, and Air Academy had to rely on its penalty killers yet again when Jack Weisenbach was sent to the penalty box for the fourth time. As they’d done most of the night, the Kadets killed the man-advantage. Harbison stopped a pair of shots and finished with 32 saves.

“With all the penalties and everything, it felt like we were down a man all game,” Paiement said. “Trying to play with a man down, (felt like) a pretty good win.”

Coronado’s Michael Allen along with Harrison’s Steven Grahn (4) and Chris Chandler (33) battled for the rebound during the Harrison Classic Boys Basketball Tournament on Friday. Harrison won the game, 67-61 and will move onto the finals. Photo by MARIAH TAUGER, THE GAZETTE