The NHL’s labor negotiations broke off Friday without plans to resume the talks with a Sept. 15 lockout looming.

“At this point talks are recessed and there will not be discussion of the issues again until the NHL indicates it is willing to do so,” players association head Donald Fehr said.

The union responded Friday to the league’s Tuesday proposal but found little encouragement. Fehr said the union is ready to talk at any time and that the league called the recess. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman took annoyed exception to that claim calling it “an inaccurate and unfair characterization.”

Bettman claimed the union did not really respond to Tuesday’s offer and that the issue is whether salaries are rolled back instead of having growth slowed.