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Within her congregation, she’s usually addressed as “Soeur Chantal.” But her hockey teammates call her “Sis-TER.”

On Sunday nights, 51-year-old Chantal Desmarais changes out of her nun’s habit and into her traffic-cone orange No. 7 jersey — for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

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The winger for the Pionnières has been a star of the recreational women’s hockey league in Boucherville for the last 15 to 20 years.

A diehard fan of the Canadiens, she tries to emulate one of her favourite current players, Brendan Gallagher, by hounding defenders and getting in the goalie’s face.

She doesn’t hog the puck, she said, and doesn’t mind not scoring in a few games as long as she has played well. After all, points hardly matter in the three-team, non-contact league — although the top two teams contend for bragging rights in the final.

Soeur Chantal said she’s won a few times, but never bothered to keep count. “Sport is meant to set you free, not stress you out,” she observed.