2018 GP #2 SKATE CANADA INTL 10/26-28 LAVAL QC

[chuckiem]

START ORDER PAIRS SHORT PROGRAM Fri 10/26 2:27 pm local time (EDT)

1 Evelyn WALSH / Trennt MICHAUD CAN
2 Camille RUEST / Andrew WOLFE CAN
3 Aleksandra BOIKOVA / Dmitrii KOZLOVSKII RUS
4 Haven DENNEY / Brandon FRAZIER USA

5 Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Michael MARINARO CAN
6 Cheng PENG / Yang JIN CHN
7 Ekaterina ALEXANDROVSKAYA / Harley WINDSOR AUS
8 Vanessa JAMES / Morgan CIPRES FRA

Tech Team

Ref Bianchetti-ITA
TC Prokop-SVK
TS Kirby-USA
ATS Siudek-POL

Judges: NED RUS CHN AUS SWE ITA CAN USA FRA

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START ORDER MEN SHORT PROGRAM Fri 10/26 3:52 pm local time (EDT)

1 Roman SADOVSKY CAN
2 Kevin AYMOZ FRA
3 Brendan KERRY AUS
4 Junhwha CHA KOR
5 Daniel SAMOHIN ISR
6 Alexander MAJOROV SWE

7 Kazuki TOMONO JPN
8 Nam NGUYEN CAN
9 Keegan MESSING CAN
10 Jason BROWN USA
11 Shoma UNO JPN
12 Alexander SAMARIN RUS

Tech Team

Ref Zaydman-ISR
TC Ottemann-NED
TS Peace-CAN
ATS Lehnert

Judges: ISR AUS RUS CAN SWE KOR JPN USA FRA

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START ORDER RHYTHM DANCE Fri Oct 26 7:10 pm local time (EDT)

1 Haley SALES / Nikolas WAMSTEEKER CAN
2 Robynne TWEEDALE / Joseph BUCKLAND GBR
3 Olivia SMART / Adria DIAZ ESP
4 Anastasia SKOPTCOVA / Kirill ALESHIN RUS
5 Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV RUS

6 Carolane SOUCISSE / Shane FIRUS CAN
7 Marie-Jade LAURIAULT / Romain LEGAC FRA
8 Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA
9 Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER CAN
10 Shiyue WANG / Xinyu LIU CHN

Tech Team

Ref Shelby-GBR
TC Andreeva-RUS
TS Fermi-ITA
ATS Elek-HUN

Judges: CAN ISR GBR NED KAZ RUS USA ESP FRA

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START ORDER LADIES SHORT PROGRAM Fri Oct 26 8:45 pm local time (EDT)

1 Daria PANENKOVA RUS
2 Alicia PINEAULT CAN
3 Starr ANDREWS USA
4 Alaine CHARTRAND CAN
5 Yura MATSUDA JPN

6 Mako YAMASHITA JPN
7 Mariah BELL USA
8 Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA RUS
9 Elizabet TURSYNBAEVA KAZ
10 Evgenia MEDVEDEVA RUS
11 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN


Tech Team

Ref Bianchetti-ITA
TC Ottemann-NED
TS Lehnert
ATS Peace-CAN

Judges: JPN KAZ RUS NED KOR ITA USA CAN ESP

=================================================================================

[chuckiem]

RESULTS PAIRS SHORT PROGRAM

1 Vanessa JAMES / Morgan CIPRES FRA 74.51 39.99 34.52 8.57 8.57 8.54 8.79 8.68 0.00 8
2 Cheng PENG / Yang JIN CHN 72.00 40.44 31.56 7.93 7.71 7.96 7.89 7.96 0.00 6
3 Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Michael MARINARO CAN 71.26 39.29 31.97 7.75 7.79 8.07 8.14 8.21 0.00 5
4 Aleksandra BOIKOVA / Dmitrii KOZLOVSKII RUS 64.57 36.15 28.42 7.18 6.93 7.11 7.18 7.14 0.00 3
5 Ekaterina ALEXANDROVSKAYA / Harley WINDSOR AUS 60.77 33.02 27.75 7.18 6.79 6.79 7.11 6.82 0.00 7
6 Evelyn WALSH / Trennt MICHAUD CAN 59.59 33.47 26.12 6.46 6.21 6.61 6.75 6.61 0.00 1
7 Camille RUEST / Andrew WOLFE CAN 57.53 31.47 26.06 6.54 6.36 6.46 6.64 6.57 0.00 2
8 Haven DENNEY / Brandon FRAZIER USA 55.31 29.76 27.55 7.00 6.79 6.54 7.00 7.11 2.00 4


START ORDER PAIRS FREESKATE Sat Oct 27 1:27 pm local time (EDT)

1 Haven DENNEY / Brandon FRAZIER USA
2 Camille RUEST / Andrew WOLFE CAN
3 Ekaterina ALEXANDROVSKAYA / Harley WINDSOR AUS
4 Evelyn WALSH / Trennt MICHAUD CAN

5 Aleksandra BOIKOVA / Dmitrii KOZLOVSKII RUS
6 Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Michael MARINARO CAN
7 Cheng PENG / Yang JIN CHN
8 Vanessa JAMES / Morgan CIPRES FRA

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RESULTS MEN SHORT PROGRAM

1 Keegan MESSING CAN 95.05 52.81 42.24 8.43 8.39 8.50 8.46 8.46 0.00 9 4t+3t, 3a, 3z
2 Shoma UNO JPN 88.87 46.63 43.24 8.82 8.57 8.46 8.75 8.64 1.00 11 4f, 4t+3t, 3a↓
3 Junhwha CHA KOR 88.86 50.43 38.43 7.68 7.46 7.75 7.75 7.79 0.00 4 4s, 3z+3lo, 3a
4 Alexander SAMARIN RUS 88.06 49.09 38.97 7.93 7.54 7.93 7.75 7.82 0.00 12 4z-to, 3a, 3z+3t
5 Daniel SAMOHIN ISR 84.90 47.48 37.42 7.54 7.21 7.64 7.46 7.57 0.00 5 4t, 3a, 3z+3t
6 Alexander MAJOROV SWE 84.64 47.74 36.90 7.36 7.11 7.54 7.39 7.50 0.00 6 4t, 3a, 3z+3t
7 Nam NGUYEN CAN 82.22 43.93 38.29 7.54 7.39 7.86 7.68 7.82 0.00 8 4s+3t<, 3a, 3f
8 Kazuki TOMONO JPN 81.63 43.67 37.96 7.50 7.46 7.64 7.57 7.79 0.00 7 4s, 3f+3t, 3a-hd
9 Brendan KERRY AUS 80.99 45.63 35.36 7.11 6.86 7.14 7.21 7.04 0.00 3 4t, 3z+3t, 3a
10 Kevin AYMOZ FRA 78.83 41.65 37.18 7.29 7.21 7.61 7.50 7.57 0.00 2 4t<, 3z+3t, 3a-to
11 Jason BROWN USA 76.46 34.50 42.96 8.61 8.46 8.54 8.64 8.71 1.00 10 3f, 3a<↓, 3z<+2t
12 Roman SADOVSKY CAN 67.72 32.78 35.94 7.29 7.04 7.18 7.14 7.29 1.00 1 4s<-hd, 4t<+3t<, 3a<↓

[chuckiem]

RESULTS PAIRS FREESKATE

1 Vanessa JAMES / Morgan CIPRES FRA 147.30 75.34 72.96 8.96 8.82 9.39 9.18 9.25 1.00 8
2 Aleksandra BOIKOVA / Dmitrii KOZLOVSKII RUS 131.97 70.15 61.82 7.71 7.54 7.93 7.82 7.64 0.00 5
3 Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Michael MARINARO CAN 129.67 64.83 64.84 8.00 7.96 8.21 8.21 8.14 0.00 6
4 Cheng PENG / Yang JIN CHN 129.08 64.50 64.58 8.18 7.86 8.04 8.21 8.07 0.00 7
5 Haven DENNEY / Brandon FRAZIER USA 114.91 57.47 57.44 7.18 6.93 7.18 7.32 7.29 0.00 1
6 Evelyn WALSH / Trennt MICHAUD CAN 112.94 58.17 55.77 7.00 6.57 7.11 7.04 7.14 1.00 4
7 Ekaterina ALEXANDROVSKAYA / Harley WINDSOR AUS 106.18 53.56 52.62 6.89 6.32 6.43 6.75 6.50 0.00 3
8 Camille RUEST / Andrew WOLFE CAN 104.63 51.29 54.34 6.82 6.64 6.68 6.96 6.86 1.00 2

FINAL STANDINGS PAIRS

1 - Vanessa JAMES / Morgan CIPRES FRA 221.81 1 1
2 - Cheng PENG / Yang JIN CHN 201.08 2 4
3 - Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Michael MARINARO CAN 200.93 3 3
4 - Aleksandra BOIKOVA / Dmitrii KOZLOVSKII RUS 196.54 4 2
5 - Evelyn WALSH / Trennt MICHAUD CAN 172.53 6 6
6 - Haven DENNEY / Brandon FRAZIER USA 170.22 8 5
7 - Ekaterina ALEXANDROVSKAYA / Harley WINDSOR AUS 166.95 5 7
8 - Camille RUEST / Andrew WOLFE CAN 162.16 7 8

[chuckiem]

RESULTS MEN FREESKATE

1 Shoma UNO JPN 188.38 101.74 88.64 9.07 8.79 8.71 9.00 8.75 2.00 11 4s<, 4f, 4t, 4t+2t, 3a, 3a+eu+3f↓, 3s+3t↓
2 Keegan MESSING CAN 170.12 83.90 87.22 8.64 8.43 8.86 8.82 8.86 1.00 12 3z, 4t, 3a+2t, 3lo, 4t<↓+rep, 3s+3t, 3a
3 Junhwha CHA KOR 165.91 86.49 80.42 8.11 7.64 8.14 8.11 8.21 1.00 10 4t<↓, 4s, 3z!+3lo, 3a+3t, 3a, 3f+eu+3s<, 3lo
4 Alexander SAMARIN RUS 160.72 85.20 75.52 7.75 7.29 7.61 7.57 7.54 0.00 8 4z, 4t, 3a+3t, 3lo, 3a, 3z+3t, 3f!+eu<+2s
5 Nam NGUYEN CAN 158.72 82.86 75.86 7.57 7.21 7.79 7.61 7.75 0.00 4 4s<+2t, 4s, 3a+3t, 3a, 3z, 3f+1eu<+3s<, 3lo
6 Jason BROWN USA 158.51 74.15 84.36 8.43 8.32 8.39 8.54 8.50 0.00 1 2s, 3a+3t, 3s, 3lo, 2a+2t+2lo, 3f+3t<, 3z
7 Kevin AYMOZ FRA 151.26 73.66 77.60 7.61 7.54 7.86 7.86 7.93 0.00 2 4t, 3z+3t, 3a<<, 3lo, 3a+2t, 3z+eu<+3s<, 3fe
8 Roman SADOVSKY CAN 142.88 69.72 73.16 7.50 7.00 7.29 7.43 7.36 0.00 3 4s, 4t, 3a+3t<<, 4s+eu+3s, 3a<, 3lo, 2a
9 Daniel SAMOHIN ISR 140.99 67.07 75.92 7.64 7.36 7.46 7.79 7.71 2.00 9 4t, 4s↓, 3lo<↓, 3z+2t, 2t, 3a+eu+3s,↓ 3a
10 Kazuki TOMONO JPN 139.20 65.98 74.22 7.50 7.14 7.29 7.61 7.57 1.00 5 4s↓, 4s<+rep, 3a+eu<+3s, 3lo, 3a↓. 3f+3t, 3z+2t
11 Brendan KERRY AUS 139.09 67.23 71.86 7.25 6.86 7.21 7.32 7.29 0.00 6 4t, 4s, 3a+2t, 1lo, 3z+2t, 2z+1eu+3s, 3a
12 Alexander MAJOROV SWE 135.66 63.40 73.26 7.39 7.14 7.25 7.39 7.46 1.00 7 4t, 3a, 2z+3t, 3f, 3a+1t, 2a+2t, 3s, late start


FINAL STANDINGS MEN

1 - Shoma UNO JPN 277.25 2 1
2 - Keegan MESSING CAN 265.17 1 2
3 - Junhwha CHA KOR 254.77 3 3
4 - Alexander SAMARIN RUS 248.78 4 4
5 - Nam NGUYEN CAN 240.94 7 5
6 - Jason BROWN USA 234.97 11 6
7 - Kevin AYMOZ FRA 230.09 10 7
8 - Daniel SAMOHIN ISR 225.89 5 9
9 - Kazuki TOMONO JPN 220.83 8 10
10 - Alexander MAJOROV SWE 220.30 6 12
11 - Brendan KERRY AUS 220.08 9 11
12 - Roman SADOVSKY CAN 210.60 12 8

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[chuckiem]

RESULTS RHYTHM DANCE

1 Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA 80.49 43.24 37.25 9.32 9.14 9.43 9.29 9.39 0.00 8
2 Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV RUS 74.66 38.89 35.77 8.79 8.82 9.00 8.96 9.14 0.00 5
3 Olivia SMART / Adria DIAZ ESP 72.35 38.82 33.53 8.18 8.14 8.46 8.50 8.64 0.00 3
4 Marie-Jade LAURIAULT / Romain LEGAC FRA 68.90 36.18 32.72 8.04 8.04 8.32 8.25 8.25 0.00 7
5 Shiyue WANG / Xinyu LIU CHN 66.96 36.51 30.45 7.75 7.46 7.68 7.64 7.54 0.00 10
6 Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER CAN 66.95 33.47 34.48 8.61 8.64 8.46 8.75 8.64 1.00 9
7 Anastasia SKOPTCOVA / Kirill ALESHIN RUS 62.68 33.36 29.32 7.36 7.21 7.36 7.39 7.32 0.00 4
8 Robynne TWEEDALE / Joseph BUCKLAND GBR 62.65 34.17 28.48 7.14 6.89 7.25 7.25 7.07 0.00 2
9 Carolane SOUCISSE / Shane FIRUS CAN 57.10 28.47 29.63 7.50 7.36 7.21 7.57 7.39 1.00 6
10 Haley SALES / Nikolas WAMSTEEKER CAN 57.09 29.80 27.29 6.82 6.68 6.86 6.96 6.79 0.00 1

START ORDER FREEDANCE

1 Carolane SOUCISSE / Shane FIRUS CAN
2 Haley SALES / Nikolas WAMSTEEKER CAN
3 Anastasia SKOPTCOVA / Kirill ALESHIN RUS
4 Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER CAN
5 Robynne TWEEDALE / Joseph BUCKLAND GBR

6 Marie-Jade LAURIAULT / Romain LEGAC FRA
7 Shiyue WANG / Xinyu LIU CHN
8 Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA
9 Olivia SMART / Adria DIAZ ESP
10 Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV RUS


RESULTS LADIES SHORT PROGRAM

1 Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA RUS 74.22 42.39 31.83 8.07 7.46 8.14 8.00 8.11 0.00 8 3a, 3t+3t, 3z
2 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN 66.51 34.02 32.49 8.21 7.61 8.36 8.14 8.29 0.00 11 2a, 3z+3t, 3fe<
3 Mako YAMASHITA JPN 66.30 35.41 30.89 30.89 7.82 7.43 7.75 7.79 7.82 0.00 6 3z+3t, 2a, 3f
4 Starr ANDREWS USA 64.77 36.16 28.61 7.00 6.79 7.32 7.29 7.36 0.00 3 3t+3t, 2a, 3lo
5 Mariah BELL USA 63.35 32.21 31.14 7.82 7.43 8.04 7.71 7.93 0.00 7 2a, 3z!<+3t<, 3f
6 Elizabet TURSYNBAEVA KAZ 61.19 29.67 31.52 8.00 7.68 7.86 7.86 8.00 0.00 9 3z!<, 2a, 3s+3t<
7 Evgenia MEDVEDEVA RUS 60.83 26.50 34.33 8.68 8.43 8.50 8.68 8.64 0.00 10 3z!, 2a, 3f<<-nc
8 Alaine CHARTRAND CAN 60.47 31.82 28.65 7.43 6.71 7.32 7.14 7.21 0.00 4 2a, 3z+3t<, 3lo
9 Alicia PINEAULT CAN 59.02 31.99 27.03 6.68 6.50 6.86 6.86 6.89 0.00 2 3t+3t, 3lo, 2a
10 Yura MATSUDA JPN 53.35 26.64 26.71 6.79 6.39 6.68 6.71 6.82 0.00 5 3t+3t<, 3lo<, 2a
11 Daria PANENKOVA RUS 51.41 25.35 26.06 6.82 6.32 6.32 6.64 6.46 0.00 1

START ORDER LADIES FREESKATE

1 Daria PANENKOVA RUS
2 Yura MATSUDA JPN
3 Alaine CHARTRAND CAN
4 Alicia PINEAULT CAN
5 Evgenia MEDVEDEVA RUS

6 Elizabet TURSYNBAEVA KAZ
7 Starr ANDREWS USA
8 Mariah BELL USA
9 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN
10 Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA RUS
11 Mako YAMASHITA JPN

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[chuckiem]

RESULTS FREEDANCE

1 Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV RUS 120.51 65.33 55.18 9.14 8.96 9.32 9.25 9.32 0.00 10
2 Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA 120.27 66.02 55.25 9.21 9.11 9.29 9.18 9.25 1.00 8
3 Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER CAN 120.02 66.66 53.36 8.75 8.61 9.07 9.00 9.04 0.00 4
4 Marie-Jade LAURIAULT / Romain LEGAC FRA 111.42 61.63 49.79 8.11 8.07 8.46 8.32 8.54 0.00 6
5 Olivia SMART / Adria DIAZ ESP 104.22 54.67 49.55 8.21 8.14 8.29 8.36 8.29 0.00 9
6 Robynne TWEEDALE / Joseph BUCKLAND GBR 99.85 55.39 44.46 7.39 7.18 7.54 7.39 7.54 0.00 5
7 Carolane SOUCISSE / Shane FIRUS CAN 99.64 54.65 44.99 7.50 7.32 7.61 7.61 7.46 0.00 1
8 Shiyue WANG / Xinyu LIU CHN 98.92 53.54 46.38 7.93 7.61 7.68 7.82 7.61 1.00 7
9 Haley SALES / Nikolas WAMSTEEKER CAN 93.14 50.62 42.52 7.04 6.93 7.14 7.21 7.11 0.00 2
10 Anastasia SKOPTCOVA / Kirill ALESHIN RUS 85.31 43.93 42.38 7.04 7.07 6.86 7.21 7.14 1.00 3


FINAL STANDINGS ICE DANCE

1 - Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA 200.76 1 2
2 - Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV RUS 195.17 2 1
3 - Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER FRA 186.97 6 3
4 - Marie-Jade LAURIAULT / Romain LEGAC CAN 180.32 4 4
5 - Olivia SMART / Adria DIAZ ESP 176.57 3 5
6 - Shiyue WANG / Xinyu LIU CHN 165.88 5 8
7 - Robynne TWEEDALE / Joseph BUCKLAND GBR 162.50 8 6
8 - Carolane SOUCISSE / Shane FIRUS CAN 156.74 9 7
10 - Anastasia SKOPTCOVA / Kirill ALESHIN RUS 147.99 7 10

With two gold medals back-to-back, HUBBELL / DONOHUE become the first dance team to make the GPF.

[chuckiem]

RESULTS LADIES FREESKATE

1 Evgenia MEDVEDEVA RUS 137.08 66.52 70.56 8.89 8.46 9.00 8.86 8.89 0.00 5 3z!+2t+2t, 2a, 3ze, 2a, 3f+3t, 3s+3t, 3lo<
2 Mako YAMASHITA JPN 136.76 71.67 65.09 8.36 7.89 8.18 8.18 8.07 0.00 11 3z+3t+2t, 3f!, 2a, 2a, 3z+3t, 3lo<, 3s+2t
3 Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA RUS 129.10 65.26 64.84 8.00 7.75 8.32 8.14 8.32 1.00 10 3a↓, 3z+2t, 3z, 2a+3t, 3lo, 3s, 2a+2t+2lo
4 Mariah BELL USA 126.90 63.90 64.00 8.07 7.68 8.00 8.07 8.18 1.00 8 2a+3t, 3lo, 3f+2t, 2a, 3z+2t+2lo<, 3f, 3z<↓
5 Elizabet TURSYNBAEVA KAZ 124.52 64.61 60.91 7.68 7.39 7.54 7.71 7.75 1.00 6 3z↓, 3f, 2a, 3lo,3s+3t, 2a+3t, 3s+3t+2t
6 Daria PANENKOVA RUS 117.13 65.90 52.23 6.86 6.29 6.46 6.71 6.32 1.00 1 2a, 3z+3t, 3s, 2a, 3z+3t, 3f!+2t+2lo, 3lo, time
7 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN 114.78 52.37 62.41 8.14 7.54 7.68 7.86 7.79 0.00 9 2s, 3z+3t<, 2a, 3z+3t<, 3lo<<, 3f!, 2a+2t+2lo
8 Alaine CHARTRAND CAN 111.70 53.08 58.62 7.39 7.04 7.39 7.36 7.46 0.00 3 3z+3t<, 2fe, 2a,3lo, 2a+1eu+3s<, 2z, 3a<+2t
9 Starr ANDREWS USA 109.95 54.09 56.86 7.07 6.89 7.11 7.18 7.29 1.00 7 3z!, 3f↓, 2a+3t<, 3s, 2a+3t<+2t, 3lo<+2t,3lo<
10 Yura MATSUDA JPN 104.24 50.17 54.07 6.96 6.43 6.79 6.75 6.86 0.00 2 3lo<+2t, 2a+1eu+2s, 3lo<, 3s+2t, 3t, 3s<, 2a
11 Alicia PINEAULT CAN 99.27 46.88 52.39 6.64 6.32 6.54 6.68 6.57 0.00 4 3z, 2a+2t, 3s+2t+2lo, 3t, 3lo<, 2s, 2a



FINAL STANDINGS LADIES

1 - Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA RUS 203.32 1 3
2 - Mako YAMASHITA JPN 203.06 3 2
3 - Evgenia MEDVEDEVA RUS 197.91 7 1
4 - Mariah BELL USA 190.25 5 4
5 - Elizabet TURSYNBAEVA KAZ 185.71 6 5
6 - Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN 181.29 2 7
7 - Starr ANDREWS USA 174.72 4 9
8 - Alaine CHARTRAND CAN 172.17 8 8
9 - Daria PANENKOVA RUS 168.54 11 6
10 - Alicia PINEAULT CAN 158.29 9 11
11 - Yura MATSUDA JPN 157.59 10 10

[Jonas]

From what I saw on the NBC broadcast:

MEN:
Jason Brown -- I'm a fan of the haircut! But based on his outing here this week, I wonder if cutting the famous ponytail is almost biblically synonymous: his jumps seem amiss. You could chalk it up to change of technique under Orser, but I dunno.

Even w/the two splats, Shoma Uno was pretty fabulous!

LADIES:
Is it me or did Medvedeva go through a bit of a growth spurt? Whatever the case, she looked good. Rome wasn't built in a day, but I can see some of the changes. More importantly, I definitely prefer the packaging -- nothing too dramatically different, but it still just somehow seems fresh. I'd revert back to repeating 3flip instead of risking two FLutz calls.

Wakaba Higuchi is reportedly injured and it really showed in her performance: listless skating for her and blank expression.

Mariah Bell wants to be US Champion this year and I think it's doable. I like Mariah's program concept better than Bradie Tennell's and Mariah performs it better. The big however is that Mariah cannot afford to continually make these nervous mistakes on the jumps. Bradie Tennell, come Hades or high water, will fight for and stand up the jumps -- and that counts for a lot.

Nice to see Liza T. on top here. She needs to put out a little more stank in her FS performance if you ask me, but this certainly bodes well for her this season.

Mako Yamashita was the surprise for me here. She skated very well. Dare I say I saw some quick flashes of Kanako Murakami while she was stroking around, but Mako's jumps overall are better!

Your thoughts...

[chuckiem]

Murakami couldn't rotate half her jumps, so I don't see any similarity there!

[Jonas]

Well, I did say Mako's jumps are better! But, in fairness, Kanako Murakami at 15 or 16 years old (about same age Mako Yamashita is now) was also a precocious jumper. She beat out some heavy hitters in her first season on the Grand Prix, including medaling at the Final. It was really Sochi and after wherein Kanako really struggled w/her jumps.

Your thoughts...

[Winnipeg]

I thought the top 4 ladies were all really with the exception of the gold in that the SP really saved her.

I agree with the poster who commented re Bell! She looked very good and I enjoyed her program and expression.

[Dragonlady]

I'm just getting home from Skate Canada tonight. Yes I know it ended on Sunday, but being an hour away from my sister's house, there was no way I was leaving Quebec without visiting her, so I headed there after the gala and arrived in time for a late dinner, thanks to a breakdown in the Metro. And then I went to my daughter's house in Hamilton on Tuesday, so I could spend Halloween with my grandbabies. So home today.

I was thrilled for Keegan Messing's performance here. His SP was a highlight of an otherwise sloppy Men's SP. One mistake in the LP, but with an extra minute and a half to work with, Shoma Uno's skate was breathtaking. Even with the mistakes.

Jason Brown was not just having jump issues, he was slow, and the program was just boring. He slowed down so much going into his 3A there was no way he was going to complete the jump. He almost came to a stop before the takeoff.

LADIES
Welcome back Elizabeta! Her SP was rock solid. She made that 3A look easy, and there was no question on the rotation. Everything about her skating was smooth easy and powerful.

I don't know whether Medvedeva has grown but she is more filled out than when I saw her in Mississauga, and she's using all of the rink. The SP is a work in progress, but she did much better in the LP. She's not comfortable with the SP choreography and it showed, not just in the mistakes. Her timing and expression need work. She looked a little wooden and uncomfortable. It's a great program and she just needs to connect with the character of the music. On a positive note, she's getting better height and ice coverage on her jumps, and her speed and stroking are both much improved.

PAIRS
What a joyous homecoming for Vanessa James. Her mother was in the audience and the fans treated her like the rock star she is. Great skates - both of them. They're my early favourites for Worlds.

Aleksandra BOIKOVA / Dmitrii KOZLOVSKII are my happy discovery of the event. I'm looking forward to how they do at Russian Nationals.

Big time kudo's to Moore-Towers and Marinaro for stepping up to the challenge of being the top Pair in Canada seizing every opportunity given to them. Their best skates yet.

DANCE
Hubbell & Donohue won this completition and deservedly so. Speed, flow, skating close together, great chemistry, combined with choreography which captures their sensuality and playfulness. The whole package. Madison's LP grey backless dress is my favourite dress this season. Gorgeous.

But the highlight of the event was Gilles & Poirier's freedance to Vincent. The program is a masterpiece and it was so beautifully skated that you just lose yourself in watching it. The SD was just a bad day at the office. It was off throughout. So nice to see them put that completely behind them and come out and just nail the FD, both technically and artistically.

And then there were the dinners, lunches and breakfasts. Getting to practice my French, and a breakfast in Longueuill to has to be seen to be believed. Skate Canada is in Kelowna next year. Cheaper to fly to Strassbourg for the GPF.