CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC SportsSend FeedbackRelated Stories Montreal Forum: An event not to be missed Memories of Red, white and blue BLOG: Elliotte Friedman: Patrick Roy nearly left Montreal in a much different way Roy welcomed back to Montreal Roy, religion and the HabsPopular Now1BreakingHomegrown hero Andrew Harris helps Blue Bombers end 29-year Grey Cup drought2LiveWatch the World Curling Tour: Ashley

Students in the class might have some fun with a pastoral activity Bauer plans to assign. "Maybe invite Guy Carbonneau to speak at your church, or maybe you can create a hockey team in your church. Maybe organize a hockey tournament with different ethnic or religious communities," he said. Topics will change each week. Students will find themselves examining religious metaphors, behaviours and ethics, and drawing links between them and the Habs. Certain religious behaviours, like praying, surround the Canadiens, Bauer pointed out. "The fans, they pray for two things. The first is that the Canadiens will win. The second thing is that they pray for the Canadiens to crush the Maple Leafs, but I think you don't need any God for that," he said with a laugh. Another example of religious behaviour is an expectation of sacrifice, Bauer said. "You know, you have to suffer if you want to win. Jesus had to die and resurrect. That's the kind of thing we expect from our players. You must be ready to suffer in order to win or earn us some victory. You must risk everything and sweat and fight or be knocked out," he said. Other parallels can be taken from various media, Bauer said. Newspapers, for instance, have called Patrick Roy St. Patrick, and referred to Carey Price as Jesus Price. Ethics also offers an interesting study topic. "Charity has been the function of the church. Now it's the team who is taking charge of the social life, visiting children in hospitals, inviting children to see a game or giving money to charity… Does that mean they have kind of a religious role?" he asked. "I hope [people] will be moved by what I teach them," he said. Bauer, who is from Switzerland, has lived in France, French Polynesia and Washington, and said discovering sport has been a way to discover society. "Sport is part of culture and a good way to learn about another country… To discover why people are so passionate about it, it's like, 'Tell me what your sport is and I'll tell you who you are,' " he said.CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC SportsSend FeedbackRelated Stories Montreal Forum: An event not to be missed Memories of Red, white and blue BLOG: Elliotte Friedman: Patrick Roy nearly left Montreal in a much different way Roy welcomed back to Montreal Roy, religion and the HabsPopular Now1BreakingHomegrown hero Andrew Harris helps Blue Bombers end 29-year Grey Cup drought2LiveWatch the World Curling Tour: Ashley

… When you have a lot of people passionate about hockey, and not about religion, it's interesting to see people's reactions to the question," she said. "If they can make connections between religion and sport, it helps get people involved; there will be a lot of diversity." In Bauer's class, students will compare and contrast the Montreal Canadiens and other religions. Bauer said he might demonstrate his neutrality on the subject by lecturing in a referee jersey. He knows the class will attract students who are unfamiliar with religious studies and says that's okay. He noted, however, it's still an academic course. "We don't just want to look at some games and drink beers. You have to work, but even if you're not a theologian student you can follow the class," he said, adding that those who don't believe the team is a religion can still earn high marks. Course assignments include studying media coverage of the Canadiens, reading chapters from the book La religion du Canadien de Montréal (co-edited by Bauer and Jean-Marc Barreau), and writing essays. Bauer's book has six chapters, one of which was written by Benoît Melançon, author of the book Les Yeux de Maurice Richard (The Eyes of Maurice Richard, which will be published in English in April 2009 as The Rocket: A Cultural History of Maurice Richard). Melançon said he's pleased that Bauer is bringing attention to the topic. "[Bauer] has really touched something deep in Quebec society, something that is so obvious nobody has taken the time to mention it," he said. "It really strikes something, and it's really fun too. Serious, but with some humour." Students in the class might have some fun with a pastoral activity Bauer plans to assign. "Maybe invite Guy Carbonneau to speak at your church, or maybe you can create a hockey team in your church. Maybe organize a hockey tournament with different ethnic or religious communities," he said. Topics will change each week. Students will find themselves examining religious metaphors, behaviours and ethics, and drawing links between them and the Habs. Certain religious behaviours, like praying, surround the Canadiens, Bauer pointed out. "The fans, they pray for two things. The first is that the Canadiens will win. The second thing is that they pray for the Canadiens to crush the Maple Leafs, but I think you don't need any God for that," he said with a laugh. Another example of religious behaviour is an expectation of sacrifice, Bauer said. "You know, you have to suffer if you want to win. Jesus had to die and resurrect. That's the kind of thing we expect from our players. You must be ready to suffer in order to win or earn us some victory. You must risk everything and sweat and fight or be knocked out," he said. Other parallels can be taken from various media, Bauer said. Newspapers, for instance, have called Patrick Roy St. Patrick, and referred to Carey Price as Jesus Price. Ethics also offers an interesting study topic. "Charity has been the function of the church. Now it's the team who is taking charge of the social life, visiting children in hospitals, inviting children to see a game or giving money to charity… Does that mean they have kind of a religious role?" he asked. "I hope [people] will be moved by what I teach them," he said. Bauer, who is from Switzerland, has lived in France, French Polynesia and Washington, and said discovering sport has been a way to discover society. "Sport is part of culture and a good way to learn about another country… To discover why people are so passionate about it, it's like, 'Tell me what your sport is and I'll tell you who you are,' " he said.CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC SportsSend FeedbackRelated Stories Montreal Forum: An event not to be missed Memories of Red, white and blue BLOG: Elliotte Friedman: Patrick Roy nearly left Montreal in a much different way Roy welcomed back to Montreal Roy, religion and the HabsPopular Now1BreakingHomegrown hero Andrew Harris helps Blue Bombers end 29-year Grey Cup drought2Live

The Garden

Their teammates swarm about, clutching and shoving one another. Linesman Cliff Thompson grabs at Richard but he slips the official’s grip. Richard connects with an uppercut to Laycoe’s cheek.

The tension between the two rivals in the six-team NHL has been building inside the Boston Garden all night

though it would take another 25 years for the changes to take effect with the institution of the third-man-in rule. 

parochial six-team affair in 1955,

"hockey was bigger than the Church, and Rocket Richard was bigger than the Pope." Roch Carrier perhaps explained it best in his famous book The Hockey Sweater.

How are the young fellows of the village to manage an evening at their place, on the other side of the river and above the falls, more than a dozen miles away and the last of them with next to no road?"

flames

brave all obstacles, and to devote themselves to the conversion of the natives

annoyances and dangers to which apostles of the faith are continually exposed among the savages;