NEW YORK – Negotiations between hockey owners and players are going so well that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says he’s “pleased with the process” – even if he has been left outside the latest rounds of discussions.

Still stuck on the perimeter with players’ association executive director Donald Fehr, Bettman made a brief statement Wednesday on the state of the ongoing lockout after the league’s board of governors met for about two hours.

Bettman declined to take any questions as he stood at an NHL podium in a Manhattan hotel, just one floor away from where talks resumed for a second straight day. A ray of hope that a season-saving deal could be made emerged late Tuesday night after about eight hours of bargaining.