Lahti Pelicans turned an early deficit into a 6-3 win in Kouvola, in regulation, by scoring three times in the first period and three more in the third. KooKoo stayed within one for most of the middle of the game but never drew level again after the 9th minute.
Ossi-Petteri Jaakola opened it at 6 with Miska Siikonen assisting, and the Pelicans answered through Gabriel Fortier (9, Sakke Hamalainen), Oleksii Myklukha (13, Aidan Dudas) and Anton Kettunen on the buzzer at 20 for 1-3. Jaakola's second at 25, set up by Manu Makela, made it 2-3 after 40 minutes, but the turning point came immediately out of the break: Dudas scored at 41 and again at 46 for 2-5.
Dudas was the central figure with two goals and an assist, each of his markers coming within the first six minutes of the third period. Jaakola's two-goal night accounted for KooKoo's first two goals; the home side's third, at 52, only trimmed it to 3-5.