End of the line for a legend...Mothes steps down as Greely boys' hockey coach

Barry Mothes, one of the most respected and accomplished coaches in Maine high school hockey history, announced Thursday that he is stepping down from leading the Greely boys' program after a memorable 32 seasons at the helm.

Mothes produced a breathtaking resume of 417 victories, seven regional championships and five Class B state titles (his teams reached the regional final or better on 17 occasions, more than half the seasons in his tenure).

Following the end of the 2025-26 season, which saw Greely finish 4-15, Mothes first opted to retire from his English teaching job at the high school, with coaching following suit.

He informed his players Wednesday.

"I just think it's it's the right time for me," said Mothes, in a wide-ranging interview Thursday (check out next week's podcast for his full reaction). "A lot of it is just sort of my personal life and my family life, and my Mom, who's going to be 92 in May, and just more availability for my wife, Ann.

"Anybody who coaches, when we start in November through early March, you're deeply, deeply locked in and I've loved all of that, but I've been feeling in the last couple years, increasingly this year, that at this point in my life I want and need the flexibility to be more available in certain parts of my personal life that are important to me."

Mothes' teams grew from plucky underdogs in his early seasons to a top contender (falling in four regional finals between 1998 through 2006) and finally, in 2009, to Class B state champion. The Rangers went on to capture Class B again in 2012, 2013, 2019 and 2020.

"I was and am proud of the teams in the 1996-1998 stretch who, with small numbers of players on the roster, worked their way to two consecutive Class B West Finals, which also included the epic five-overtime win over Falmouth in a regional semifinal," Mothes said. "I was and am proud of the teams of the early 2000s who battled hard as a more underdog team but built the foundation for some growth that led to a period from 2004-2014 where Greely teams were in the regional final for 11 of 12 years and in the State Final in four of those years, winning in 2009, 2012, 2013. 

"We were consistently one of the best teams in the state, regardless of Class A or Class B designation, back in the day when there were more like 45-50 mostly single-school teams playing high school hockey and we were a public high school team with an enrollment of 640 or so students. Part of that was related to playing a challenging crossover schedule each season where we consistently played at least five of the best Class A teams in countable regular-season games, teams like Falmouth, Thornton Academy, Biddeford, Scarbrough, St. Dom's and Lewiston. We won many of those hard-fought games year in and year out.

"In addition to that were the years where Gary Prolman and Paul Evans' Portland Invitation Tourney drew 40-plus teams from all over Maine, New England, New York, the Midwest and eastern Canada. Greely teams in those years, with a young Kyle Kramlich in net, beat teams like New Hampshire Division 1 powerhouse Hanover, Xavier of Connecticut (in a shootout), DeMatha Prep of Maryland (also in a shootout) and others.

"We used to get a lot of comments from the (Maine Principals' Association) guys and the rink personnel (in Lewiston) like, "Oh, you guys again.'

"It was obviously a lot of fun."

Through it all, Mothes made a powerful impact on his players.

"Barry was awesome," said Josh Brainerd, Greely Class of 1999. "He had such a special impact on so many young men. I've had the unique experience of Barry being my high school hockey coach back in the late 1990s, then later in life, working closely with him as arena manager at Family Ice.

"It was always clear to see how much he cared about all of his players and that never changed. He built a true team environment where we learned to work hard for one another. He made sure the Greely Hockey experience went far beyond just games and practices. There were golf tournaments, a 5K Turkey Trot, plus trips to see college hockey games together. So many former Greely hockey players have lifelong friendships and important lessons learned thanks to our time with Barry."

Greely had some unforgettable playoff battles over the years with rivals like Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, Yarmouth and York and win or lose, Mothes and his coaching colleagues were able to retain mutual respect.

Former Capers coach Jason Tremblay, who won some and lost some against Mothes in regional finals back in day, raved about Mothes' ability to always get the most out of his roster.

"Barry always had his team ready to play regardless of their opponent," Tremblay said. "He was relentless at IQ and making sure that his players always competed to the highest level. Most importantly, what I loved about coaching against Barry was his passion and love for the game. We would always talk before the games. He was nothing but class and I always had the highest respect for a man of his integrity."

Dave St. Pierre, who first coached against Mothes as an assistant at Yarmouth, later went head-to-head versus Mothes as the Clippers head coach and most recently, coached against him with the powerhouse Cheverus-Yarmouth co-op program, echoed the theme.

"Coaching-wise, Barry has very few peers," said St. Pierre. "No matter what he had for depth and skill, you could always count on a tough, hard-fought game. Most importantly, he is a respected leader that left countless positive impressions on his players. The Greely community owes him a debt of gratitude. I'll miss our hockey chats, facing off on the ice and especially our handshakes after games. Barry is a true class act who helped make Maine high school hockey a special experience for so many."

David Shapiro, the longtime athletic director at Greely, admitted Thursday he's still absorbing the news and that Mothes will be difficult to replace.

"It's hard to imagine having a Greely hockey game without (Barry) behind the bench," Shapiro said. "His departure obviously leaves a huge hole in the institutional knowledge of Maine high school hockey, not just Greely.

"A trademark of Greely hockey is that we were always better at the end of the year. This speaks to my favorite quote from Aristotle, 'We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act, but a habit.' 

"Coach Mothes was a master at conducting practices that were high-energy, skill-based with a laser focus on execution of all the details of hockey. He coached juggernauts and neophytes with the same exacting standards. Every team who played us knew they were in for a game."

Mothes has fond memories of countless classic games and breathtaking victories, but he said Thursday that it was those under his tutelage from whom he gained the most inspiration.

"The players really deserve the great deal of the credit," Mothes said. "The players and their families as well. There were some truly talented, exceptional players and they kind of put us over the edge. I'm very, very proud of those players and I'm very proud of the Greely teams, and what Greely hockey became."

Mothes feels that the program remains in good hands going forward (the process will soon begin to determine his successor).

"It's been challenging these last couple of years, but I'm very optimistic about where the team is heading," Mothes said. "It's not going to be easy, but I think the players are very, very excited about next year, and I think they're going to be a really promising and an interesting and fun team. (We had) a young and physically small team with three freshmen and three sophomores playing among the top 10 players and with only one goaltender who started playing hockey and being a goaltender in the spring of his eighth-grade year and had never started a varsity game before this season.

"Against first-place Gorham/Massabesic, a new co-op team this year, we beat them 4-3 in a home game. We then played them on the road and lost 2-1 in a game that was tied 1-1 with about seven minutes to go in regulation. With (eventual champion) York/Biddeford, a new co-op team that gained an all-league senior goaltender, senior second- and third-team defensemen, and several veteran depth players, we traveled to Dover, New Hampshire to play them, two nights after a 10-1 loss to Falmouth. Down 2-1 after the first period, we held a 3-2 lead after two periods, and led 4-3 in the third period before York/Biddeford tied it to send it to overtime where we lost, 5-4.We also lost three other games in overtime. I think these kinds of games and efforts, as a young single-school team with a small roster, against expanded co-op teams, truly speak to the character and grit of the 2025-26 team."

Speaking of co-op teams, Mothes does have his concerns about the future of the high school game and how those multi-school teams have been incorporated.

"I regret not seeing some kind of more active oversight from the (Maine Principals' Association) of the growing and expanding number of co-op teams that have developed in the past five or six years and especially after Covid," Mothes said. "Greely was one of only seven single-school teams playing boys' high school hockey this year and from what I know, at least two of them, Cape Elizabeth and Messalonskee, are expected to co-op with someone for the 2026-27 season. I obviously don't want to see anyone denied a chance to play high school hockey, but there are some significant and growing inequities in what's been going on that have truly changed the Maine high school hockey landscape and put smaller single-school teams at what feels like an unfair disadvantage."

In addition to caring for his family, Mothes plans to play his share of golf in the coming years and he didn't rule out returning to the bench in some capacity down the road.

"I hope to explore some other interests of mine," Mothes said. "Maybe with writing, and I enjoy playing music. I'm in a band with other teachers here. We call ourselves, 'The Faculties,' and it's been a great experience. I'd like to have the flexibility to travel a bit more. It's not like I'm going to become a world traveler year-round, but just to have a little bit of the freedom to go someplace in the world between November and March. I'm also looking forward to being able to go out to dinner on a few more Saturday nights in the wintertime, or get away for a weekend once in a while to go someplace fun and do some skating.

"I look forward to those kinds of possibilities."

Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffersports@yahoo.com