JMS Hockey

So I haven't played a ton of JMS games but this bummed me out today. I've been playing for many years and there's nothing like that excited feeling the day of a skate when your pumped all day to play. We had 11 skaters and 2 goalies signed up to a fairly early skate and it was cancelled. Reasoning was "it would be too brutal?" Tell me if I'm wrong here but some of the funnest drop ins I've played have been games with 1 or 2 on the bench. You get lots of ice time and as a result more time to try things, goof around ect. I know most of the people signed up and the cancellation sparked a lot of disappointment........just venting for the group a bit I guess, but drop in hockey is about getting some ice time to get out, see the ice, take some shots, and have fun with friends...not the numbers. If we even had 8 skaters and 2 goalies it'd be game on in my book. There's nothing wrong with taking rests and making the best of ice time...

Brandon, I too was bummed out when the call was made to cancel tonight's game. Luckily I have a league game tonight so I still get to play today. I believe the super early time killed our numbers. I know Paul Sheick would have come out, but with traffic he wouldn't have been able to make it. We could have done 3 on 3..... Just saying.

Hi Brandon - I totally understand where you are coming from; it's definitely disappointing to look forward to a skate only to have it struggle to gain traction and get cancelled. We are in a tough position in these situations because we have received a lot of feedback over the years telling us the following: 1) People don't like sessions with low numbers 2) If we are going to cancel, cancel early so that people can make other plans Given that feedback, we do the best we can to make the right decision in each case. I know that my explanation doesn't change the fact that you didn't get to skate yesterday, but I hope it helps you understand a bit better where we are coming from. Also, I should add that the biggest help you (or any other skater) can offer is to get the word out to potential skaters that a game is struggling to fill. We do the same on our end, but it can really make a difference when the players themselves start to spread the word. Hopefully, it will help to have the game back at it's usual start time next week! - Eric JMS Admin

I can see both sides of that issue as a goalie who's played in all sorts of JMS and open hockey games. I played an open hockey game the other day where it was 4 on 4 and each team had 1 and 2 guys on the bench. I could tell they were tired but since everyone was in reasonably good shape (even the dude in his 50's), and nobody was horribly inept, the game was surprisingly well played by open hockey standards. It only lasted an hour but that was perfectly understandable especially with only one goalie. On the other hand I've been at JMS upper level games with full 5 on 5 and 5 guys on each bench where you have guys that don't belong in that skill caliber and are horribly out of shape. It got pretty unruly with all the 3 on 0's and horrible lack of effort on D. Somewhere around the hour mark it got pretty unplayable and people started leaving etc. (unfortunately as a goalie you don't really get that luxury, even though it would be a good wakeup call for some of the guys there). This isn't meant to bash JMS or anything as I've been in plenty of JMS games better than that. My overall point is that it can be a tough judgement call and I'm not sure a blanket rule suffices in that type of situation. That said with those numbers it'd be almost impossible to play a full 90 minutes and JMS has financial concerns that factor into these decisions.

I really hate your cancellation policy. I've just donated $32 to you this week. I hate how for a long time I've tried to change my level to one that reflects my skills and talents (being a lower league) but instead I keep being ignored. That being said, if I see an opportunity for a night I might be able to play, I have to sign up the day before or the game is full. I don't have options since the only game I qualify for usually is the elite level. Sure I played junior A hockey after high school, but that was 12 years ago and I've explained how I've been on skates 1 time in the last 10 years and that I am in the worst shape of my life. But no, can't change levels or even get anyone to hear my case that I'm out for casual exersice and to have fun. I personally do not come to compete. I wanna pass the puck and make plays for others while getting some activity. I cannot keep up with these top skaters who are 10 years younger. This all leads up to I sign up for games that I do not know 100% if I can even participate. But since JMS is set up in a way in which one needs to register way in advance to have an opportunity to play. Well my work has an unforgiving schedule. Sometimes I need to cancel due to work. Well the game I signed up for was not close to full, it was far in advance. I had an idea that I might have to work, so I canceled far in advance. Well the game didn't fill, as it wouldn't have weather I signed up or not, but still I do not get a refund. That is bad business. You've made twice as much money from me canceling than from me actually playing. I left a half a day for people to sign up and replace me. Usually a game is full within a half a day to start time, so my canceling had no affect whatsoever on the game not filling and feel I should be due a refund for that particular game. The first one I got called to work about 15 minutes before it started, so I can't do anything about that one, just forefit my $16 I guess. But this latest one should be refunded. And no one else seems to hear me, so that's why it's on this forum. Thank you.

Hey Andy, If you cancel over 48 hours away from a game, you always get refunded - this is automatic and if you know of a game or instance where this didn't happen, please let me know. It looks like you never contacted our support (the last time you did was in 2013), so if you're ever having an issue with the website or program, that's a good first step and will actually go to our support staff for help. If you cancel at short notice, and no one takes your spot, you don't get a refund because your spot isn't covered. As much as we'd love to refund every single cancellation immediately, that makes it really hard for us to sustain or start new games at rinks. One of the things we've always strived for is balanced and fair hockey. So when we advertise that a game is for beginners, you're truly playing a game with other beginners with a truly similar amount of experience, not advanced players that are "playing down" to include other people in the play. For some people, this matters a lot, for others it doesn't matter at all, but it's a choice that we've made for the games we offer. Hope this makes sense and sheds at least a little light on how the program is structured. Thanks, -Andy

Ya, I stopped playing for a long time because they couldn't place me in a reasonable league. I just want to play level 4-5. I just submitted a level change maybe a week er so ago. Nothing... That particular game I was referring to wouldn't have filled either way. So I took a chance and signed up, but I was not able to make it, so canceled many hours early. We both know that games that are going to fill, do so way earlier than that. I had no affect on the outcome of this game, it wouldn't have filled anyways, so what incentive do I have in the future to sign up for games early? If even a few people waited towards the end of the day to register, then a game could possibly be canceled all together because not enough signed up in advance due to not wanting to forefit their money in case a situation came up. Usually a cancellation on my part is my fault, but this one was in plenty of time to fill a game, it didn't and I don't believe I need to pay $16 for it. Besides how did it go from $12 to $16? Kind of a big jump if you ask me.

Hey Andy, If a game was cancelled, you definitely should have been refunded. Which game specifically was this? I don't see a level change request associated with your account - did you fill out the level change request form? You can find it here: http://jmshockey.com/level-change-request/flag Also, although it may not seem like your signup has an effect, it most certainly does - filling early is definitely the sign of a healthy game, but we have games that fill up much closer to or on the actual game date all the time.

Yes I already submitted a request through the website. Whatever, clearly you could care less and are not going to make things right. I replied to your email with the game. It shouldn't be this difficult to get a fair result. I'll stick with outdoor hockey. Thanks for nothing and taking my money for two games in a week that just didn't happen to fill, with PLENTY of time remaining. Greed will only get you so far.

Hey Andy - I'm trying to help you out. We certainly don't take money for games that get cancelled, so I wanted to know if that's the case - which it looks like it isn't. The Hopkins game you were signed up for ended up with 16 skaters and was never cancelled, but unfortunately your spot wasn't taken. Trust me, we want these spots to fill just as much as you do. I'm going to dig into your change request to see why you didn't receive a response. I apologize for you having to wait this long for a response.