Photo by Joe Lovell Members of the Wheeling Nailers surround Max Graham after he scored the game-winning goal in overtime late Friday night against Florida in Game 4 of the ECHL Kelly Cup's Eastern Confernce finals inside WesBanco Arena.

WHEELING – The Wheeling Nailers completed the first of their four-step plan late Friday night to keep their season alive.

Max Graham scored at 6-minutes, 9-seconds of overtime to lift the Nailers to a thrill-packed, 3-2, decision over Florida in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals before just over 3,000 fans inside WesBanco Arena.

With the hard-fought victory, Wheeling sets up Game 5 on Saturday night at 7:10. Florida still holds a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-7 format. Games 6 and 7, if necessary, will be played inside Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla. next week.

“Another game where our intentions were to score first, but we weren’t able to make that happen,” Wheeling head coach Ryan Papaioannou said. “I didn’t like how we played in parts of the game but we stuck with it and gave them enough of a push that we’ve got them back here tomorrow (Saturday) night.

“We’re a different team in this building,” Papaioannou said of his team that is 7-2 inside their home rink. “They are definitely beatable. Like I said before, they have 25 guys that play in the ECHL. We have 25 guys playing in the ECHL. They’re an experienced, mature team that has accomplished a lot in this league, but we play in the same league.”

Shortly after a Nailers’ power-play ended, Graham sealed the deal.

Edwards slid the puck across the slot to Graham and the 6-3, 215-pounder found the 5-hole on Cam Johnson to set off a cherished celebration on the ice.

“I had just jumped onto the ice and I think both teams were in the middle of line changes,” Graham noted. “We got the puck to Eddie (Brayden Edwards) and he’s one of the best passers on the team, so I knew to look for the puck. I knew I had to be ready to shoot it quickly before the goalie got over and got set. I was lucky enough to find the back of the net.

“The last time I had an overtime goal was in our home-opening weekend against Norfolk this season,” Graham said. “Playoff goals are a whole different ball game.”

Papaioannou could take some credit for calling the goal.

“On our way back out to the ice for overtime I told (Ryan) McAllister that we needed a hero,” Papaioannou recalled. “Grahamer was the next guy to walk by and I said ‘it might as well be you.’ He’s got a good shot when he can get it off. It’s just a matter of him getting it off and he finished it tonight.”

Wheeling erased two 1-goal deficits in the game as Florida scored first for the 13th consecutive game, but the Nailers showed grit and determination to keep battling.

Team captain Matthew Quercia got the equalizer at 18:28 off assists by Emil Pieniniemi and Blake Bennett, but Florida re-gained the lead a mere 25 ticks later when Oliver Cooper went top shelf over Taylor Gauthier.

Wheeling drew even for the second time when Craig Armstrong tickled the twine just 30 seconds into the third period. His shot banked off a Florida player and past Johnson. David Breazeale and Nolan Renwick logged assists.

Gauthier, who denied Anthony Romano on a penalty shot in the first period, stood tall all night. He finished with 32 saves, while Johnson stopped 22 shots.

Wheeling is seeking to become only the third team to battle back from a 3-0 deficit in Kelly Cup playoff history. Cincinnati and Idaho are the others.