The Bloomington Bison close out their second season this weekend at Grossinger Motors Arena — but they might not be done playing.
The minor league hockey team is in the running for the ECHL’s final playoff spot for what would be their first postseason berth.
Returning players are a big reason for that hope after a strong first season.
“It’s always great as a leader when you can return the people that really amplify what we do here. I think from that standpoint, it’s been really great to see the growth,” head coach Phillip Barski said in an interview for WGLT’s Sound Ideas.
Preparing for the possibility of postseason play comes after a successful road trip where the team won three games in a row.
But, Barski noted, “… it’s still far from it. We have a lot of work to do here, we still got three games. We’re playing a very good Iowa team. ... we definitely started to focus in on their details and we just got to take it one game at a time.”
The Bison, who host the Iowa Heartlanders Friday and Saturday, are sixth in the Western Conference while the Heartlanders are in last place. The Bison sport a record of 36-29-2-3 for 77 points.
If the team succeeds, it will open the door for additional home games over the next several weeks.
“It’s great for business and it’d be great for our community and America loves a winner, so if we can start winning, I’m sure our fans will come out and maybe we’ll even create some new fans,” said Barski, adding, “…it’s just that new fan who comes to a game who never thought they would…”
Barski credited team president Andy Zilch with increasing attendance at Grossinger. In the 2024-2025 inaugural season, attendance steadied around 2,600 fans game.
It now exceeds 3,000. Barski said marketing and sponsorship growth have done a lot to hike attendance, and he gets to see the payoff in the stands on game days.
“Every time I see a fan, they’re wearing a jersey or they’re wearing a hat or they’re wearing both,” he said. “They’ve come to realize how good the hockey is here, how committed our ownership group is to providing a good product for our community, and as I said our game day ops has gotten way better.”
Barski said the players believe they can only control their attitude, preparation and execution looking ahead to the postseason, so that's exactly what they are doing.
Returning players
Barski said players with more experience help the team, of course, but multiple factors have gone into improving the team in its second season.
“I also think we made huge strides in the off season, communicating with the arena staff. Our ice is way better than it was last year,” he said. “It’s been a complete overhaul and then the city investing in new boards and glass, it’s really made a huge difference. And then I need to touch on the front office staff.”
One issue facing the team’s roster is most of them being from outside the United States.
As a largely international team, Barski said the players bond with each other at the same time as they do with Bloomington-Normal.
“Abromov, Tsulygin and Kaleinikovas are all from that Russian, Belarus area and Sedov as well, and they’ll speak Russian in the dressing room and I think that’s pretty cool,” he said. “And some of our guys have picked up some of the catchphrases or catch-words and that’s kind of helped grow our [team] culture.”
For example, Barski said one Polish Russian phrase the team might say is, “davai, davai,” which means “give it, give it.”
Mid-season strike
In December, the team’s players sat out a week until the ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association union reached a tentative agreement on their contract.
With their return, Barski said the situation was stressful for everyone.
“I thought the owners did a great job with it. I thought the players did a great job with it, and I understood pretty early on that the players were fighting for what they deserved and the owners are making sure that the league is going to be viable for many years to come,” he said.
“And there was a commonality, or a common ground, that they were going to and again, it’s like any negotiation, it’s a dance, it’s a give and take, back and forth.”
The ECHL commissioner said the players received a significantly better deal.
With the conclusion of the strike, the league has expanded to 30 teams. Barski thinks the league is in the best shape it has ever been.
“All you have to do is look at attendance and merch sales and social media clicks. I mean, it’s really an incredible thing,” he said. “It’s a great league to be a part of and it’s a great developmental league and not only for the players, not only for the referees, not only for the coaches, but also for the front office staffs.”
