DETROIT -- For the first time in five years, two Red Wings players brought in more money for The Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign in two hours than coach Mike Babcock and general manager Ken Holland.

Forwards Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm bell rung at Hockeytown Authentics on Dec. 9. Fans lined up around the building before 4 p.m. and helped the two players raise nearly $2,900 and earn bragging rights for this year’s competition.

Babcock and Holland’s red kettle at Hiller’s Market in downtown Northville totaled nearly $2,400, putting them just $500 short of the total raised by Abdelkader and Helm.

Jonathan Ericsson and Drew Miller collected over $1,000 at the Kroger in Plymouth, bringing the overall total to $6,330.04. This year’s competition brought in more than the last two seasons’ competitions combined.

This season marks the fifth consecutive year the Detroit Red Wings and The Salvation Army are teaming up in “Red Wings for Red Kettles” to help the nonprofit reach its $7.8 million Red Kettle campaign goal. The organization recently announced that it is more than $5.5 million away from its goal with donations down 15 percent from 2009. The campaign is facing a $400,000 goal deficit compared to this time last year.

In addition to the bell ringing competition, The Salvation Army will have its famous red kettles at Joe Louis Arena for four games this month (Dec. 13, 15, 19 and 22).

About The Salvation Army: Founded by William Booth in London, England in 1865, The Salvation Army is a faith-based, non-profit organization dedicated to serving people in need without discrimination.  In 2009, The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit was involved in providing 3,181,865 million meals and 724,134 nights of shelter for the homeless. The Salvation Army uses $.85 of every dollar raised to provide direct services to people in need each and every day of the year. For more information about The Salvation Army, please call 877-SAL-MICH, or visit us at salmich.org.