Pallade Veneta - 'Hockey is religion': Montreal fans pack church for playoff push

But they weren't there to pray the Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of their first round series -- they were there to drink beer and watch the game.

"Hockey is a religion in Quebec," said Francoise Dancause, artistic director of the Cargaison collective, which curates immersive cultural experiences in Quebec.

She had the idea to install a hockey viewing experience in a church when she woke up on New Year's Day.

"The Canadiens had a good team. I said to myself, for sure we're making the playoffs," Dancause told AFP.

It took months of work, but by the time the NHL playoffs started, the ornate Cathedral of St John the Evangelist in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec was ready to host -- with a projection screen strung across the sanctuary.

"The Canadiens are larger than life," she said of the Montreal club, which has the most wins in NHL history with an unfailingly passionate fan base.

"We often say they're our gods, so the parallel is really easy to make."

For her, a church is an ideal setting for a high-stakes game in a hockey mad society.

"It's the essence of the church: gathering, being together, living together," she added, conceding that some of the 650 people in attendance on Friday night "have never set foot in a church" previously.

For 94-year-old Aline Tremblay, watching hockey was the new experience.

She had been to the cathedral -- about a 40-minute-drive from Montreal -- for an earlier match in the Montreal-Tampa Bay series.

"It was fantastic, I had so much fun. I screamed, I lost my voice," she told AFP. "For once I shouted out loud in a church."

People drank beer and "everyone was happy," she said.

She came back for more on Friday, in what was the second hockey game she'd ever watched.

The church-going crowd didn't leave disappointed. Montreal won in overtime on Friday, taking a 2-1 lead in the best of seven series.

S.Urciuoli--PV