Rain moved in early Monday and fell throughout the day in South Bend, Indiana, forcing the Blackhawks and Bruins to move their practices indoors to Compton Family Ice Arena.
Both teams were scheduled to practice outdoors at Notre Dame Stadium. The first time either team will skate on the Winter Classic rink will be in warmups before the game at noon Central time Tuesday.
The Blackhawks’ practice was bumped back 1 hour and 30 minutes to 10:30 a.m. Central time, while Bruins’ skate was moved up two hours to noon. Each team is given a hour to practice before the Notre Dame men’s team faces off against rival Boston College at 4 p.m.
The family skates, which are normally held after each team’s practice at the stadium, were also cancelled.
It’s the second straight outdoor game the NHL has moved practices inside. Heavy winds made the league cancel outdoor practices for Toronto and Washington on March 2 prior to their Stadium Series game the next day at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
The NHL gave the Capitals and Maple Leafs extra time to skate during warumps to get use to the ice.