( Photo Credit: Green Bay Gamblers Official Facebook Page / @gamblershockey )

By: Mark Allred | Follow Me On Twitter @BlackAndGold277

The United States Hockey League announced its individual awards yesterday, and Green Bay Gamblers defenseman Mason Lohrei took home this year’s USHL Defensive Player of the 2020-21 regular season. The 6′-4″ 205-pound Wisconsin native had a good rookie campaign in 2019-21, posting 8-29-37 in 48 games, but this season, he surpassed those numbers for the Gamblers contributing career highs of 19-40-59 totals. Throughout the 2020-21 campaign playing in the top-tier junior developmental league in the country, the big rugged mobile blueliner also won USHL Defenseman of the Week four times during the regular season and led all defensemen with assists, goals, and points.

Lohrei, a Boston Bruins second-round selection in the 2020 National Hockey League Entry Draft (58th overall), is committed to to play in the NCAA Big Ten Conference with the Ohio State Buckeyes in the fall of 2021. The Gamblers finished the season ranked third in the Eastern Conference with a record of 30-17-2-2, earning 64 points but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs to the hands of the Muskegon Lumberjacks. Mason went 1-1-2 in the postseason and was a minus -4 in those two games against Muskegon.