Carrying on a family tradition, Eric Lafreniere of Garson is cheering for the Montreal Canadiens a little harder than your average Habs fan.
Lafreniere is watching his team from the garage in his home, which, thanks to his understanding wife, has been turned into a shrine honouring his favourite NHL team.
It’s the perfect spot to watch as the team faces the Buffalo Sabres this week in the second round of the playoffs.
He has been a big fan of the Habs since his childhood, just like his grandfather.
“My grandfather on my mom’s side was a big Montreal Canadiens fan,” Lafreniere said.
“One day, he decided to take the train with his friends and they went to Montreal at the Montreal Forum. And unfortunately, at the age of 52, he had a heart attack as he was handing in his ticket at the game. And he passed away right there.”
That sudden loss galvanized his family’s love for the team, even memorializing his grandfather on a brick outside the arena.
“I contacted them when they got to Montreal, and they presented me with a nice frame with the game sheet of the game,” Lafreniere said.
“My grandfather … was handing in his ticket when he passed away, so he missed a game. So they gave me the game sheet, the official game sheet framed with a memory of Joe Laprairie at the bottom of the game sheet, and the nice handwritten letter.”
The Habs have been a part of his family his whole life, a big reason why he dedicated his garage to the Habs, much to his wife’s chagrin.
“I had to ask her politely if she could not park in the garage because this is where we watch our games,” Lafreniere said.
“It was a hard sell. However, part of the agreement is that I have to go out and make sure the car is warm for her in the winter and take the snow off.”
But Lafreniere said she is happy she no longer has to hear him and their son watch the games – especially in the playoffs when the cheering gets a little rowdy.
“I’ve had a lot of people here. Last Friday, it was a packed house,” he said.
“It was standing room only in here. And my friends -- I had friends and family in here watching the game -- it was incredible. I even had a neighbour in the back, call me up and say they could hear us cheering from inside my garage.”
The Habs losing the first game didn’t get Lafreniere down. In fact, he’s even decorating outside the house with new exterior lights to shine Habs colours during the game.
