KooKoo ruffled some feathers with a 4-2 away win in game one, and were up against a Tappara side looking to give them a taste of their own medicine back in Kouvola. But after surviving the opening powerplay, awarded after slashing by Samuel Valkeejarvi, the home side then took the lead on the first powerplay of their own.
Joachim Blichfeld was called for interference, and with 12 minutes played, Veeti Miettinen's shot was saved, but Miska Siikonen set the rebound back for Robert Rooba to strike home.
But at the start of the second period, Tappara regained their composure and got themselves level just three minutes in, when Julius Mattila and Henrik Haapala linked up superbly behind the net before squaring for Kasper Simontaival to finish from in front.
Parity lasted just over five minutes, as Miettinen received a pass on the left wing, and despite having a tight angle to work with, managed to fire the puck past the goaltender to restore KooKoo's lead.
But back came the Tampere side again, equalising once more with a little over two minutes left in the second, when Kristian Tanus carried the puck in front of the net, causing a pile-up where Joni Tuulola knocked the puck against Tanus and in amid the scramble.
However, the visiting side were unable to stop KooKoo going ahead for the third time - seven minutes into the third period, Miettinen knocked the puck back to Jimi Suomi following a face-off and he squared to Ville Meskanen, who wound up a pyledriver that flew into the net from distance.
KooKoo conceded a late powerplay, but this time Tappara were unable to respond, denied by desperate last-ditch defending from the home side in the final seconds, as KooKoo held on for a 3-2 win that takes them 2-0 up in the series, which returns to Tampere for game three on 6th May.