The goals are big for an all-transgender hockey team known as Team Trans.

Comprised of more than a dozen players from Canada and the United States, itB次元官网网址檚 believed to be the first ice hockey team made entirely of transgender men, transgender women, and gender non-conforming athletes.

Honorary co-captain Harrison Browne says hitting the ice for the first time with the squad earlier this month was B次元官网网址渓ife-changing,B次元官网网址� and he hopes it can be an inspiration to athletes of all stripes who may struggle to find a safe space to be themselves.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of kids feel like they donB次元官网网址檛 have a place in sport because sport in the past and in history has been so binary B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 always broken into menB次元官网网址檚 and womenB次元官网网址檚 sides,B次元官网网址� says the Oakville, Ont.-born Browne, whose professional career included championship wins with the female Metropolitan Riveters and the Buffalo Beauts in the U.S.

B次元官网网址淭here hasnB次元官网网址檛 been B次元官网网址� a team that has basically said, B次元官网网址榃e support you, we are here for you.B次元官网网址� I think this is the first time itB次元官网网址檚 really ever been seen in hockey.B次元官网网址�

That remarkable first game took place at a tournament in Cambridge, Mass., called the Friendship Series. They faced off against the Boston Pride, an LGBTQ+ hockey organization that hosted the scrimmage, even paying for the ice time and ordering the teamB次元官网网址檚 pink-and-blue jerseys, says an appreciative Kat Ferguson, a forward who made the trip from Ottawa.

The players themselves connected through social media and began laying the groundwork for a possible gathering some eight months ago, adds Ferguson, among about four Canadians on the team.

While most of the players hail from the U.S. northeast, Ferguson says they included players from the Midwest and one from California.

Some had decades of experience like Ferguson and Browne, others were more casual players who just played recreationally. One had just learned to skate.

But Ferguson, who identifies as non-binary and prefers the B次元官网网址渢heyB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渢hemB次元官网网址� pronouns, says they were united by shared life experiences little seen in hockey.

B次元官网网址淭here was no stress about locker room situations. We all have different scars and different life experiences and stuff like that. WeB次元官网网址檙e all kind of hiding things, usually in one way or another, when we play with our regular teams,B次元官网网址� says Ferguson, who added theyB次元官网网址檝e been embraced by both male and female hockey teams in Ottawa.

B次元官网网址淚t was like an instant family. It was really specialB次元官网网址� Honestly, by the end of the weekend we were all sobbing because it was over. It was really emotionally amazing.B次元官网网址�

The next goal is to make sure the games donB次元官网网址檛 end there.

Ferguson, 41, says plans are to arrange another round in Madison, Wis., in the spring, and again in Toronto in a year.

While they acknowledge hockey is evolving to embrace a broad array of fans, Ferguson says Team Trans can help further promote education, awareness, and acceptance. The sports environment is still B次元官网网址漹ery gendered,B次元官网网址� they say, and that has forced many trans players to abandon team sports.

B次元官网网址淚n pretty much everything, you have to pick a gender and for a lot of people B次元官网网址� they canB次元官网网址檛 pick a gender (or) there are a lot of years where our bodies are different and our hormones are different,B次元官网网址� says Ferguson, who takes hormones to present as masculine.

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Browne concurs, noting that even though his successful professional career included very supportive teammates, there were disconnects that grated.

B次元官网网址淚 was always called Brownie so I never really had to connect with my birth name but I was with female pronouns,B次元官网网址� says Browne, who came out in 2016 and prefers he/him.

B次元官网网址淎nd with rosters and everything like that when youB次元官网网址檙e announced on the ice youB次元官网网址檙e announced by your first name so it was a constant reminder.B次元官网网址�

Co-captain and professional player Jessica Platt says Team Trans bonded immediately over such struggles. She, too, is considered a pioneer for coming out publicly in January 2018.

B次元官网网址淔or a lot of transgender people you can feel the hostility in the hockey atmosphere because itB次元官网网址檚 still very much a male-dominated sport where anyone whoB次元官网网址檚 seen as different is typically made fun of or is an outcast,B次元官网网址� says the 30-year-old Platt, who plays with the Professional WomenB次元官网网址檚 Hockey PlayersB次元官网网址� Association in Kitchener, Ont. The group is largely comprised of members of the former Canadian WomenB次元官网网址檚 Hockey League.

B次元官网网址淥nly recently has womenB次元官网网址檚 hockey been getting a lot more media attention.B次元官网网址�

Browne, 26, agrees, saying what the sport needs are B次元官网网址渙ptions.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think that people should be necessarily put into so many different boxes and not be allowed to play,B次元官网网址� says Browne, who played in the National WomenB次元官网网址檚 Hockey League in the United States until retiring in 2018 to start his physical transition.

B次元官网网址淚f you want to play with other trans people then that (should be) there. Or if you want to play on an all-menB次元官网网址檚 team, thatB次元官网网址檚 there for you. Or if you want to play on an all-womenB次元官网网址檚 team, thatB次元官网网址檚 there for you. If you want to play on a co-ed team, itB次元官网网址檚 there for you.B次元官网网址�

Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press

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