Canadian ice dancers Gilles and Poirier golden again, winning Grand Prix Espoo

ESPOO, Finland — Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won the ISU Grand Prix Espoo on Saturday for their second victory of the season.

Skating to music from the "Evita" soundtrack, the world bronze medallists scored 219.49 points. Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker of the U.S. were second (202.46), while Finland's Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis won the bronze (191.79).

‘’What worked well this week is how much we trusted our training and trusted each other,’’ said Poirier. ‘’We didn’t force anything and really let the skating happen by itself like we know how to do. We are really proud of our performance today.’’

Gilles and Poirier opened the season with a victory at Skate Canada International last month. They'll vie for gold at the Grand Prix Final next in two weeks in Turin, Italy.

Canadian Madeline Schizas finished fifth in women's singles with 187.84 points. Japan's Mai Mihara won the gold (204.14).

Canada's Keegan Messing finished eighth in his Grand Prix finale. The 30-year-old, who plans to retire after this season, had been fourth after Friday's short program, but fell badly on his opening quadruple toe-loop, hitting the side of his head on the ice. He scored 205.02.

American Ilia Malinin captured the gold (278.39).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2022.