Minnesota prep hockey fans who enjoy watching metro-area programs mix it up with their outstate counterparts — a staple of the state tournament's allure — won't have to wait until March.

The four-team "North-South Classic," with Eden Prairie, Benilde-St. Margaret's, Brainerd and Hermantown, will be held Dec. 8-9 at Eden Prairie. The Friday doubleheader will start with Benilde-St. Margaret's vs. Brainerd at 6 p.m. followed by Eden Prairie vs. Hermantown at 8 p.m.

On Saturday afternoon, Eden Prairie will play Brainerd at 12:15 p.m. and Benilde-St. Margaret's will meet Hermantown at 2:30 p.m.

Brainerd will host the tournament in December 2018.

U safety Travis to play in Senior Bowl

The Gophers will be represented at Saturday's Senior Bowl for the fourth consecutive year.

Safety Damarius Travis was a midweek roster addition to the Senior Bowl's South team. Travis made 13 of his 23 career starts last fall as a senior in the Gophers' 21st-ranked defense. The 6-2, 215-pound safety finished his final year with a career-best mark in tackles (83), including four for loss, and two interceptions.

Travis will be the fifth ex-Gophers player to take part in the Senior Bowl in the past four years, joining KJ Maye, Eric Murray, David Cobb and Ra'Shede Hageman.

Etc.

• Gophers sophomore Kiley Sabin, a shot putter from Slinger, Wis., was named the Big Ten women's indoor field athlete of the week. She threw the shot a program record 56 feet, 4 inches in a dual meet vs. Wisconsin. Sabin broke previous record — 54-4¾ set in 1999 by Aubrey Schmitt — three times in the meet.

• The renovation of Target Center moved forward another step with the completion of the TCL SixOneTwo Lounge, a premium space for select season ticket members located on the arena's skyway level.

• Minnesota State Mankato was the top pick in the NSIC preseason baseball coaches' poll for the seventh time in the past eight years. St. Cloud State and Augustana were selected to finish second and third.