“It’s not a pleasant feeling when you lose a Final,” started the 39-year-old.

Rögle Ängelholm scored the first two goals, but Tappara Tampere were able to keep themselves in the game with a goal early in the final frame. The contest remained close and seemingly either team could’ve won the game.

“We created a lot of scoring chances, but we lacked in efficiency. One goal is not enough to win a game,” said Kuusela.

The Catena Arena in Sweden’s Ängelholm housed the Final and was sold-out with people singing, chanting and cheering throughout the entire game.

Rögle fans dominated the stands, but Tappara did not feel excluded from the party, with Kuusela saying his side enjoyed the atmosphere of the night.

“It always gives you that extra boost when there is a noisy crowd. These kinds of games don’t come to you many times in your career and such an atmosphere is rare, regardless of where the game is played.”

Tappara got their first and only goal through a rebound puck. Rögle netminder Christoffer Rifalk had to perform on the very top level to protect his net for the full 60 minutes.

“We just couldn’t score, despite the pressure we put on them,” said Kuusela.

 “We put the effort in, but I cannot analyse why we were not able to tie the game.”

This was Tappara’s first CHL Final after a season that saw them venture past the Round of 16 for the very first time.

“Our organization has been involved in the CHL for many years now, but we have never made it this far."

"From the very beginning we were able to defeat tough teams with top level performances throughout the tournament,” said Kuusela.

“Ending the season without reaching the final step is hard on us,” he concluded.

Tappara will now continue their season in the Finnish Liiga in which they are competing for top spot in the regular season.