The first period was both a closely-fought affair and goalless, yet it took just 35 seconds of the second period for the deadlock to be broken, as Lukas Wernblom struck his fourth of the season to put TPS ahead.
But with the midpoint of the match approaching, Ilves hit back when Austin Strand set up Luke Henman to equalise, amid a tense few minutes when a series of penalties were given out, including to two players per team for fighting.
The third period was a calmer affair, though it exploded into life five minutes from time when Strand scored to give Ilves their first lead of the game, and after Jaakko Lantta got called for tripping, the Turku side went all out for an equaliser by pulling the goaltender. Yet it backfired, and Henman repaid the earlier favour by teeing up Strand to score his second into the empty net.
Otto Paajanen scored what turned out to be no more than a consolation in the final seconds, and with the 3-2 win, the Tampere side are up to third in the Liiga standings - 17 points from seven matches - while TPS sit eighth having won four and lost four this season.