LEWISTON — Matthew Bissonnette donned an orange jersey at the Lewiston Maineiacs last full practice of the week Friday.

This time, orange didn’t mean ‘non-contact.’

Out for more than a month with a broken bone in his arm, Bissonnette returned to the ice last week wearing an orange practice jersey. He was the only one on the ice with that color, and was designated as a player not to be touched.

Friday, three players skated with orange: Bissonnette and his two linemates, Jess Tanguy and Cameron Critchlow. And there was plenty of contact. All systems appear a go for Bissonnette, who will make his return to the Lewiston lineup this weekend as the Maineiacs host Baie-Comeau for a pair of games Saturday and Sunday.

“I’m excited, anxious, a little nervous,” Bissonnette said, still huffing and puffing a bit from a spirited skate. “I can’t wait to get back. The guys are doing good, though, so I hope I don’t ruin that.”

The Maineiacs are, indeed, on a roll. Winners of its last six, Lewiston has also won 12 of its last 16 games. Goaltender Nick Champion leads the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in wins with 13, Etienne Brodeur leads the league in goals with 18, and Tanguy has the longest active goal-scoring streak going at four games.

To contrast all of that, the Baie-Comeau Drakkar hit the ice in Lewiston this weekend having lost 21 consecutive games in regulation, overtime or a shootout. That alone, Bissonnette agreed, could be dangerous for the Maineiacs.

“You can never take it easy on a team, no matter what they’ve been doing,” Bissonnette said. “Even Baie-Comeau, they’ve been playing well against some of the teams with the best records. You have to play it like you’re playing against the best team, wither it’s Quebec or Val d’Or or Baie-Comeau.”

“The toughest part is to not take them lightly,” Maineiacs’ defenseman Sam Finn said. “Their record is not good, but we have to make sure we come out strong. We have to be as ready as we are against any other team.”

With the return of Bissonnette came the return of another valuable piece of the Maineiacs’ offense Friday. Kirill Kabanov, whom the Maineiacs recently acquired in a trade with Moncton, returned to the ice after sitting out a few days of practice with an illness.

Even as the team moved forward Alex Zafiris back to defense in practice this week, the ice is starting to get a little crowded.

“It must be very tough to be the coaches right now, because we have a lot of very good players out here,” Finn said. “We’re all really excited to have Biz back, and everyone’s ready to go now, so we can’t wait to see this weekend.”

Baie-Comeau and Lewiston hit the ice in their first game of the weekend Saturday at 7 p.m., and the rematch faces off Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.