Auto-invites when short
When check-ins dip below your minimum, the spare invite goes out automatically — days before the game, at the hour you choose.
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Short players? Solved before you notice
Your spare list, on autopilot
Every rec team lives and dies by its spares. Game Day turns your call-up scramble into a system: automatic invites when you're short, tiered waves so your first-choice spares get first crack, and one-tap accepts with the fee paid on the spot.
Web · iPhone · Android — set up in under 5 minutes
What you get
Waves by skill tier
Build up to three named spare lists (by rating tier or hand-picked) and stagger them — list two only hears about it if list one doesn't fill the bench.
Goalie call-ups
A full-time goalie checks out? The goalie spare flow fires on its own — because a skater sub doesn't stop pucks.
Spare fees, collected
Pay-to-play teams: the accept link takes the spare straight through payment. Track-and-invoice teams: every play is logged for month-end. Cash? Recorded too.
One tap, no account
Spares accept from the email — no login, no app install. First game in, they're on the roster with the right position.
A real spare ledger
Who played, who paid, who waived — the Spares section keeps the season's history straight so nobody argues in February.
The economics of a good spare list
A rec team's survival depends on a handful of people who aren't technically on it. Treat them well and you never cancel a game; treat them as an afterthought and they stop answering.
Speed beats persistence
Spares usually play for two or three teams. The one that asks first, clearly, with a one-tap answer gets the yes. Manual texting at 5 PM loses that race to an automated invite that went out two days earlier.
Order matters — and it shouldn't be first-come chaos
Blasting twenty spares at once means whoever checks their phone first plays, regardless of fit. Waves let you invite the spares who suit the night first and open it up only if the bench isn't full.
Money is the friction that kills goodwill
Chasing a $20 spare fee for three weeks costs more in goodwill than the $20 is worth. Collecting it inside the accept flow — or logging cash the moment it changes hands — keeps the relationship about hockey.
From "anyone know a guy?" to filled bench
Build your spare lists
Add spares with positions and ratings — or let them join from an invite link.
Set the rules
Minimum players, invite timing, wave delays, fees. Once.
Game Day watches the count
Short on skaters or goalies, the right list gets emailed automatically.
Bench filled
One-tap accepts, fees paid, roster updated, teams re-balanced.
Questions
Frequently asked
How do spares accept an invite?
Straight from the email, one tap, no account needed. If your team charges a spare fee, payment happens in the same flow.
Can I control which spares get invited first?
Yes — waves. Invite by rating tier or build named lists and stagger them by hours, so your first-choice spares always get first shot.
Does it handle spare goalies differently?
Completely. Goalie call-ups have their own trigger (a goalie checking out), their own list, and goalies typically play free — that's your call in settings.
What if a spare cancels after accepting?
Their spot reopens, the waitlist promotes, and if they'd paid, the fee converts to a credit automatically.
Can I track who owes me money?
Yes. Every spare appearance is logged with its payment state — paid by card, cash recorded, waived or still owing — so month-end reconciliation isn't a memory exercise.
Keep reading
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