SOCHI, Russia (Interstat) — Grigory Denisenko and Kirill Semyonov each recorded a goal and an assist to lead Ak Bars Kazan to a 4-2 victory over HC Sochi in a Kontinental Hockey League game Wednesday afternoon at Bolshoy Ice Dome.

The visiting Ak Bars, bolstered by a three-goal second period, improved its record across all competitions to 41-24. Sochi, despite a brief rally, fell to 17-46.

Ak Bars opened the scoring early in the first period. At the 2:49 mark, forward Radel Zamaltdinov netted his third goal of the season, assisted by Dmitry Katelevsky and Igor Bardin.

The game’s momentum shifted dramatically in a 43-second span later in the period. Denisenko extended Ak Bars’ lead to 2-0 at 14:13 with his 14th goal, courtesy of a helper from Semyonov. Sochi responded immediately, as defenseman Artyom Volkov cut the deficit in half just 43 seconds later, scoring at 14:56 from Yegor Petukhov and Daniil Seroukh.

Ak Bars seized control in the second period with a pair of power-play goals. After Sochi’s Pavel Khomchenko was penalized for tripping, the home team managed a short-handed tally from Matvei Guskov at 21:39 to tie the game at 2-2.

The tie was short-lived. Another Sochi penalty, this time for interference on the goaltender by Dmitry A. Utkin, gave Ak Bars a two-man advantage. Defenseman Ilya Karpukhin capitalized, firing in his ninth goal of the season at 25:46 to restore Ak Bars’ lead. Semyonov and Denisenko provided the assists.

Just over a minute later, at 26:51, Semyonov delivered the decisive blow, scoring Ak Bars’ second power-play goal of the afternoon to make it 4-2. Alexander Chmelevski and Mitchell Miller were credited with the assists.

Sochi could not mount a comeback in the third period. Ak Bars goaltender Timur Bilyalov secured the win with 22 saves on 24 shots for his 41st victory of the season.

The game was a penalty-filled affair, with Sochi taking three minors and Ak Bars taking two in the latter half of the contest. The result defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 2-1 Ak Bars win. The statistical service had given Ak Bars an 81.10 percent probability of victory based on its ELO rating system.

The win follows a 4-2 road loss for Ak Bars against Severstal Cherepovets on Monday. Sochi was coming off a 3-2 home loss to Amur Khabarovsk on Sunday.

Ak Bars continues its road trip Friday at Dynamo Moscow. Sochi travels to face Salavat Yulaev Ufa, also on Friday.