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Swain commits to Wilkes University

By Anthony Di Paolo, 01/18/21, 2:00PM EST

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Swain lands NCAA commitment during his second season with 87's

The New Jersey 87's are proud to announce that Nick Swain has committed to play Division III hockey at Wilkes University for the 2021-2022 season.

Swain is a 20-year-old forward from Jackson, NJ and is playing in his second season with the 87's. This year he is among the league leading scorers with 33 points (16g, 17a) in 21 games, and has 49 career points 24g, 25a) in his career with the 87's.

Head coach Adam Houli spoke about Swain's commitment and growth as a player over the last season. 

"He has worked extremely hard over the past 14 months to reach his goal. When he started with us last year he was still raw with a lot of potential, and has really established himself as one of the top players in the Eastern Hockey League," Houli said. "He is a phenomenal person who does everything the right way with the team-first mentality. I couldn’t be more excited for him and I know Wilkes is getting a very good hockey player and an even better person."

Wilkes University is a Division III program located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Competing in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference, the Colonels are led by head coach Tyler Hynes. 

Swain discussed his commitment and what it means to join a program such as Wilkes. 

"It's a sigh of relief just getting that weight off my shoulder. Wilkes was my number one school, it's a very highly respected program so I'm looking forward to that and hopefully we stay in the ranks as one of the top D-III teams," Swain said.

The New Jersey native started the 2019-20 season in Canada, playing for the Fort Frances Lakers of the Superior International Junior Hockey League. Jack Lane was among his teammates, and when Lane decided to return to the Garden State for his second stint with the 87's, Swain joined him to further bolster the team's offensive attack. Those two will be united again when Swain joins Lane at Wilkes in the fall of 2021.

"Having Jack Lane at Wilkes is awesome, it's just a bonus knowing someone already there," Swain said.

Swain currently has 16 goals in his first 21 games of the 2020-2021 campaign, and was among the 64 players recognized as All-Stars in the Eastern Hockey League. He spoke about his growth within the 87's organization and how the team has given him the tools to thrive at the Tier III level.

"Coach Houli and Matt (Kiernan) do a lot of things well. The team breeds you to buy into their systems, and once you buy in it makes the game so much easier, because once everyone knows what they're doing it eventually becomes muscle memory and you don't even have to think about it."

The 87's organization would like to congratulate Nick and his family as he prepares to advance his hockey career to the Division III collegiate level.