Negotiations are stalled, neither party wants to budge, and President Barack Obama said he’s had enough.

This wasn’t about the fiscal cliff, though – it was about ice hockey.

In an interview with a Minnesota TV reporter, Obama urged the National Hockey League and the NHL Players’ Association, who left their second day of federal mediation Thursday without a deal, to get it together.

“The president of the United States shouldn’t have to get involved in a sports lockout,” he told WCCO’s Frank Vascellaro. “And I shouldn’t have to be involved in a dispute between really wealthy players and even wealthier owners. They should be able to settle this themselves. And remember who it is that’s putting all that money in their pockets.”

The NHL season isn’t officially cancelled yet, but commissioner Gary Bettman  has suggested a “drop-dead” date sometime in mid-January – not long after the painful mix of tax hikes and spending increases would go into effect if Congress doesn’t reach a deal.

Obama was asked to “pull some strings” to end the lockout back in October, when he appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

But so far, he’s had as much success avoiding the “hockey cliff” as he has the fiscal one.