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Gilles and Poirier book ticket to Grand Prix Final with silver

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MOSCOW – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won the silver medal on Saturday in ice dancing to conclude the Rostelecom Cup, the fifth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit in figure skating.

Combined with their gold medal performance at Skate Canada International last month, the Canadians are assured a berth in next month’s ISU Grand Prix Final.

Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia took the gold medal with 212.15 points followed by Gilles and Poirier 207.64. Sara Hurtado and Kirill Khaliavin of Spain were third at 185.01.

“We were extremely happy with how we skated today,” said Gilles. “Coming from an NHL size rink to an Olympic size rink feels different. With this result we’ll qualify for the GP final, we have nines in our components in both programs, so we’re moving in the direction that we want to.”

World junior champions Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., were seventh.

In men’s competition, Russia swept the podium with Alexander Samarin first at 264.45, Dmitri Aliev second at 259.88 and Makar Ignatov third at 252.87.

Canadian champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto was in the mix for the medals and climbed to fifth from sixth after the short program on Friday with 246.20. Skating to a Beatles medley, Nguyen opened with a quad Salchow-triple toe combination en route to a clean program. However a couple of jumps weren’t as polished as he would have liked.

“It was a bit of a struggle,” said Nguyen, the silver medallist at Skate Canada International. “This week has been a little challenging just because I miss the home atmosphere like at Skate Canada. But I just kept my head down and focused on doing my job.”

The pairs competition was won by Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii of Russia. Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., took sixth spot with 168.96.

“It wasn’t the long program we were hoping for,” said Walsh. “We have a ton of work to do for nationals (in January).”

The next stop on the circuit is the NHK Trophy in Sapporo, Japan on Friday and Saturday.

Full results: ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2019

Gilles and Poirier in fight for gold at ISU Grand Prix in Moscow

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MOSCOW – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier almost duplicated their rhythm dance performance from last month’s victory at Skate Canada International to stand second at the sixth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit in figure skating.

Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia are first with 86.09 points followed by the Toronto couple with 82.56 just 0.02 off their personal best set at Skate Canada. Sara Hurtado and Kiriil Khaliavin of Spain are third at 72.01.

“I think we’re starting to learn how to compete how we practice at home,” said Gilles. “We wanted to keep pushing, and didn’t allow ourselves to calm down too much.”

World junior champions Marjorie Lajoie, from Boucherville, Que, and Zachary Lagha, from St-Hubert, Que., are eighth.

In men’s competition, Russia stands 1-2-3 with Alexander Samarin first at 92.81, Dmitri Aliev second at 90.64 and Maka Ignatov third at 87.54.

Canadian champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto is sixth but is only 0.53 points from third spot with 87.01. He delivered a clean program landing a quad Salchow-triple toe combo, a triple Axel and triple flip.

“I’m really happy with how I put myself out there and I think it’s really important for me to keep believing in my confidence,” said Nguyen, the silver medallist at Skate Canada International.

The Russians also grabbed the top three spots in the pairs short program led by Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii.

Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., are fifth after a personal best 62.76 less than six points from third place.

Canada has no entries in women’s competition.

All four free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2019

Seven Canadian skaters headed to Russia for Rostelecom Cup

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OTTAWA, ON: Team Canada will be competing this week at the Rostelecom Cup, the fifth event of the 2019 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Canada will be sending one entry in men, one entry in pair and two entries in ice dance, for a total of seven skaters. The event will take place from November 15-17, 2019, in Moscow, Russia.

Nam Nguyen, 20, Ajax, Ont., will be the lone Canadian entry in men. This season, Nguyen won silver at Skate Canada International and finished fourth at Nebelhorn Trophy. He is coached by Robert Burk in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Evelyn Walsh, 18, London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud, 23, Trenton, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in pairs. The two finished eighth at Skate Canada International and sixth at Finlandia Trophy this season. They are coached by Alison Purkiss in Brantford, Ont.

Piper Gilles, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 28, Unionville, Ont., will be the first of two Canadian entries in ice dance. This season, the duo took home gold medals at Skate Canada International and Autumn Classic International. They are coached by Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs and Jon Lane in Scarborough, Ont.

Marjorie Lajoie, 19, Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha, 20, Saint-Hubert, Que., will be the second Canadian entry in ice dance. The team finished sixth at Skate Canada International and fourth at Finlandia Trophy this season. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer in Montreal, Que.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director and Bev Viger of Abbortsford, B.C., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Leanna Caron, President, Skate Canada, will also be travelling with the team. Karen Butcher of Greely, Ont., and Veronique Gosselin of Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., will be the Canadian officials attending the event. Dr. Albert Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont., and physiotherapist Mike McMurray of Oak Bluff, Man., will be the medical staff onsite.

For more information, please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2019 ROSTELECOM CUP – MOSCOW, RUSSIA

DISCIPLINE NAME AGE HOMETOWN CLUB COACH
Men Nam Nguyen 20 Ajax, Ont. Richmond Hill Training Centre Robert Burk
Pairs Evelyn Walsh / Trennt Michaud 18 / 23 London, Ont. / Trenton, Ont. London SC / Trenton SC Alison Purkiss
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 27 / 28 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs / Jon Lane
Ice Dance Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha 19 / 20 Boucherville, Que. / Saint-Hubert, Que. CPA Boucherville / CPA Saint-Lambert Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer