KalPa Kuopio won 5-4 in Kouvola in regulation, and the game was effectively settled inside four minutes of the opening period. A four-goal burst put the visitors up 4-1 after 20 minutes and gave them just enough cushion to survive the rest of the night.
Teemu Hartikainen opened it at 9 on a Jesper Piitulainen feed, Ville Meskanen answered at 10 from Kim Nousiainen, and then KalPa scored three times in under two minutes — Aleksi Klemetti at 11, Joona Saarelainen and Juuso Kononen at 12. KooKoo pushed back through Roope Tossavainen at 23, but Lasse Lappalainen restored the three-goal margin at 25 for 2-5, and that proved the difference; Tossavainen's second at 40 made it 3-5 after two.
Tossavainen was the standout with both of his goals, and Santeri Sulku's strike at 54, assisted by Ossi-Petteri Jaakola, cut it to 4-5. KooKoo outscored KalPa 3-1 across the final two periods, but the first-period deficit was too big to close.