Red Wings' Howard, Mrazek get new masks for Military Appreciation Night

Detroit Red Wings netminders Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek will be wearing military-themed masks for Military Appreciation Night. The masks are camouflage to match Detroit’s warmup jerseys Friday night, and will be auctioned off post-game in support of charity.

The Detroit Red Wings are suiting up for their first contest since Veterans Day when they host the San Jose Sharks Friday night, and goaltenders

Jimmy Howard and

Petr Mrazek are set to honor those who’ve served with brand new helmets. Vaughn, one of the largest producers of goaltending equipment, donated the masks to the Red Wings netminders. The helmets are primarily camouflage, but both have subtle design differences. The back panel of Howard’s mask features a silhouette of the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima, an iconic image from the second World War, while Mrazek’s mask features the POW/MIA flag. Take a look:

The Red Wings will also wear camouflage jerseys for the warmups, which will then be auctioned online via NHL.com. The winning bid will receive the warmup-worn jersey and the matching socks worn by the specific player, with all proceeds going to a charity called ‘Help For Our Disabled Troops.’ The charity helps veterans who’ve returned from war post-September 11, 2001. This isn’t the first time the Red Wings netminders have had matching helmets for an outing. Shortly before Christmas last season, both Howard and Mrazek received holiday-themed masks which were auctioned off to support a local charity.