ASTANA, Kazakhstan (Interstat) — In a high-scoring affair that defied pregame projections, the Barys Astana hockey club rallied from an early three-goal deficit to defeat Sibir Novosibirsk 6-4 in a Kontinental Hockey League game Saturday at Barys Arena.

The victory leveled the season records for both teams at 4-4-0.

The game’s opening minutes were dominated by the visiting Sibir team, which stunned the home crowd by scoring twice in a 34-second span early in the first period. Roman Kalinichenko opened the scoring for Sibir just over five minutes into the game, and Scott Wilson extended the lead moments later to make it 2-0.

Barys began its comeback shortly after, with Semyon Simonov cutting the deficit in half with his first goal of the season at the 8:12 mark of the first period, assisted by Kirill Savitsky and Jake Massie.

The second period featured a flurry of goals that saw the lead change hands. Barys defenseman Dmitry Breus scored an unassisted goal to bring the score to 2-2, but Sibir’s Nikita Soshnikov answered less than a minute later to restore the Novosibirsk lead. Vladislav Kara then pushed Sibir’s advantage to 4-2 midway through the period.

Refusing to relent, Barys mounted a decisive response. Defenseman Jake Massie scored to bring his team within one, and Simonov netted his second goal of the game late in the period, tying the score at 4-4 heading into the final intermission. The tying goal was assisted by Reilly Walsh and Adil Beketayev.

The third period was a tighter, more defensive contest until Barys broke the deadlock with just under 12 minutes remaining. Defenseman Ian McCoshen scored the game-winning goal unassisted at the 48:10 mark. Barys sealed the victory with an empty-net goal from Mason Morelli in the final minute, with assists from Massie, who finished with three points, and Emil Galimov.

Barys goaltender Adam Scheel earned the win with 16 saves on 16 shots faced. The game was characterized by disciplined play for long stretches, with only six minor penalties called throughout the contest. Sibir’s Sergei Shirokov was penalized twice, for holding the stick and later for a too many players on the ice infraction.

The result was an upset according to Interstat’s pregame metrics, which had given Sibir a 66.1 percent probability of winning and projected a final score of 3-2 in favor of Barys.

The teams are scheduled to meet again twice in October, on Oct. 5 in Novosibirsk and Oct. 14 back in Astana.

Barys Astana returns to action Monday at home against Admiral Vladivostok. Sibir Novosibirsk continues its road trip Monday at Metallurg Magnitogorsk.