Denis Collins, who coached Old Town-Orono to a state Class B hockey title in 2018 and was chosen the Eastern Maine Class A Coach of the Year when he was at Bangor High School, is the new hockey coach at Brewer High School.
He is replacing Lance Ingerson, who stepped down after nine seasons to spend more time with his family. Ingerson produced an 83-82-9 record and led the Witches to six Class B North playoff berths, including two semifinal appearances.
The 63-year-old Collins stepped down after five seasons as the Old Town-Orono coach in 2018 due to travel requirements associated with his work.
He was the first coach of the cooperative team, and the Black Bears went 20-1 in the 2017-18 season when they won the title. They had gone 16-3-2 the previous year.
He got back into coaching this past summer with the Maine Northstars 16-under travel program.
“I really enjoyed coaching that [Northstars] team. They were fantastic kids. And when Lance stepped down, some kids and coaches talked to me [about applying for the job],” said Collins, who was one of four applicants.
He is looking forward to the opportunity, and said he wants to redevelop Brewer into the team it was when it competed for state championships.
Brewer won state Class B championships in 2007 and 2010.
Collins led Bangor to a 13-5 record in the 2011-12 season, which earned him Eastern Maine Class A Coach of the Year honors.
He resigned the next season due to a bus scheduling issue that resulted in an investigation into a lack of bathroom breaks on a trip to Presque Isle.
“It was an innocent situation that got out of hand,” said Collins, who stepped down because he didn’t want it to be a distraction to the players.
He said coaching a start-up program (Old Town-Orono) provided him with “a lot of growth” because he had to mold players from two communities into a cohesive unit.
The state title was a first in hockey for a cooperative program.
He has been a member of the USA hockey program for 27 years and is the coach developer for the region.
Collins has a “proven track record of building programs and turning them into contenders immediately,” Brewer athletic administrator Dave Utterback said in a press release. “Brewer High School is in a unique position with its proximity to the hockey rink (Penobscot Ice Arena) and a history of being a dominant program in Maine.”
Utterback added that the Brewer administration wants to “make Brewer High School the school of choice again for the young hockey players in the region.”
In addition, Brooke Staton of Orrington, a 2015 graduate of Bangor High School, will co-coach the Brewer School Department’s competition cheerleading program with Allison Smith, Utterback announced.
Staton replaces Nancy Snowdeal, who retired after last season.
“I am very comfortable with the combination of coaches Staton and Smith. It will be difficult to replace the approach that Coach Snowdeal built over her decade-plus coaching tenure but Coach Staton will add a new dynamic to the program that will help the sport build through the future years in Brewer,” Utterback said.
Renissa Cox has been added to Brewer High School girls basketball first-year head coach Tanna Ross’ coaching staff. Cox will be the head junior varsity coach and Tyler Ross, Tanna’s brother, will be a volunteer assistant coach.
Meghan MacDonald and Kim Shelley have been promoted from volunteer to full-time head coaches for the second-year Penobscot Pioneers’ cooperative girls ice hockey team.
Jarrod Williams will be in his first full season as the head coach after being the interim last season after Michael Keim left.
Emma McNeil and Jim Zetes have been added as the Pioneers’ volunteer assistants.
