After helping to even the score at one in the middle of the third period, former Acadie-Bathurst defenseman Olivier Dame-Malka had enough.

The Maineiacs’ defenseman had enough of the Titan’s yakking on the ice, of the subtle jabs of the sticks toward areas of his and his teammates’ bodies that most people don’t mention, and he’d had too much of the perceived extra shots the Titan took at goaltender Nick Champion.

When the whistle blew in the Maineiacs’ defensive zone, and Malka became entangled with Vincent Arseneau, the frustration came out. The crowd of fans at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee roared to life as Malka and Arseneau (and a few others) tangled in the corner.

And that was just the start of it.

Seemingly inspired by the gutty performance of their 20-year-old blueliner, the Maineiacs ramped up the hitting, and the speed of play.

Then, just past the halfway point of the period, Bathurst defenseman Mario Kurali made his way lazily to a dump-in off the stick of Sam Finn. The Maineiacs’ defenseman, who’d just returned from San Jose Sharks camp, saw how slow Kurali was skating, and charged after his own dump-in. From 15 feet away, he stopped his strides, and glided toward Kurali at full speed. Just as the unsuspecting Titan D-man touched the puck, Finn blew him up with a thundering, and clean, check.

Christophe Losier stepped in to help Kurali — by going after Finn. The two immediately dropped the gloves, and Finn landed several punches to Losier’s face and head before linesmen stepped in to stop things.

The crowd was electric. And the players responded, too.

“The intensity picked up a notch after the fight,” Maineiacs’ coach J.F. Houle said. “You could tell, looking at everyone on the bench, it kind of rejuvenated the team, and gave a little spark to the guys on the bench.”

No kidding.

Twenty-nine seconds after Finn’s fight win over Losier, Jess Tanguy escaped in the middle of the slot and fired the puck past Bathurst keeper Dereck Tait to lift Lewiston to the win.

Off the scoresheet, but…

Since his return to the Maineiacs from his tryout with the Vancouver Canucks, Pierre-Olivier Morin has been on the go. He arrived Thursday, skated with the team in morning practice Friday and then played a pair of games this weekend.

He was held scoreless, but his impact was noticed, and immediate.

“He makes the other team play their top lines against him, and he’s so fast,” Houle said. “With his speed and that line’s ability, it tired the other team out. He’s a good player, and he’ll put the puck in the net this season. He had a good weekend.”

Cast-off

Matthew Bissonnette walked around the Colisee on Monday with his arm in a cast much bigger than it likely needed to be.

“Guess I won’t be swinging any golf clubs soon,” Bissonnette quipped, referring to his volunteer appearance at a charity golf tourney last Thursday.

Bissonnette suffered a broken arm in Friday’s contest against Acadie-Bathurst, and according to the team, he will be lost “for a while.”

The forward said Monday he expects to get a smaller, more manageable cast this week, and perhaps regain mobility in his elbow, which would help him stay in shape through the healing process.

More coming

The Maineiacs will board a bus Tuesday morning and head out on a six-day, six-night journey to play four games in five nights in Rouyn-Noranda and Val d’Or. Game 1 of the stretch is Wednesday night. Look back here at sunjournal.com/maineiacs and at In the Crease for more this week from the team’s road trip. We’ll check in with radio man Alex Reed, and with coaches J.F. Houle and Darren Rumble about the long trip to the North.