Pairs Free Skate

[slutskayafan21]

The Germans dont look happy at all with their skate. It looked pretty good to me but maybe I missed something. He put his hands down on the side by side triple salchow but that is better then usual for them on that jump so far this season. The rest looked good, did I miss something.

...

Barely over 120 again for the Germans. They will need bigger to beat the Zhangs.

 

[SailorGalaxia518]

1 Aliona SAVCHENKO / Robin SZOLKOWY GER 120.32 58.64 61.68 7.90 7.60 7.55 7.75 7.75 0.00 #7
2 Keauna McLAUGHLIN / Rockne BRUBAKER USA 110.82 60.18 50.64 6.55 6.05 6.35 6.25 6.45 0.00 #4
3 Jessica DUBE / Bryce DAVISON CAN 102.05 53.17 50.88 6.55 6.20 6.20 6.50 6.35 2.00 #5
4 Anabelle LANGLOIS / Cody HAY CAN 91.09 48.61 44.48 5.75 5.45 5.35 5.65 5.60 2.00 #3
5 Tatiana VOLOSOZHAR / Stanislav MOROZOV UKR 90.67 41.71 48.96 6.45 5.95 5.95 6.25 6.00 0.00 #6
6 Jiaqi LI / Jiankun XU CHN 73.01 40.13 34.88 4.70 4.15 4.20 4.45 4.30 2.00 #2
7 Dominika PIATKOWSKA / Dmitri KHROMIN POL 66.71 34.47 32.24 4.25 3.80 4.05 4.15 3.90 0.00 #1

Overall:

1 Aliona SAVCHENKO / Robin SZOLKOWY
GER
190.64 1 1
2 Keauna McLAUGHLIN / Rockne BRUBAKER
USA
166.48 4 2
3 Jessica DUBE / Bryce DAVISON
CAN
160.21 3 3
4 Tatiana VOLOSOZHAR / Stanislav MOROZOV
UKR
150.81 2 5
5 Anabelle LANGLOIS / Cody HAY
CAN
145.33 5 4
6 Jiaqi LI / Jiankun XU
CHN
120.41 6 6
7 Dominika PIATKOWSKA / Dmitri KHROMIN
POL
104.97 7 7

 

[oleada]

The Germans dont look happy at all with their skate. It looked pretty good to me but maybe I missed something. He put his hands down on the side by side triple salchow but that is better then usual for them on that jump so far this season. The rest looked good, did I miss something.

They only did a throw single salchow and had other little mistakes throughout.
But their program is amazing. Skated clean it should be mesmerizing. I couldn't keep my eyes off them.

 

[slutskayafan21]

Maybe the Germans missed another element. She looked very dissapointed coming off, and that score still isnt great for them.

They only did a throw single salchow and had other little mistakes throughout.
But their program is amazing. Skated clean it should be mesmerizing. I couldn't keep my eyes off them.

You mean a throw double salchow? I thought a triple is what they had planned. They are wonderful to me though. Amazing elements (when done cleanly) combined with excellent overall skating, choreography, line, creativity. To me the Zhangs dont even come close, but the judges seem to not agree right now.

 

[1795]

M&B yay!!!!

 

[oleada]

You mean a throw double salchow? I thought a triple is what they had planned. They are wonderful to me though. Amazing elements (when done cleanly) combined with excellent overall skating, choreography, line, creativity. To me the Zhangs dont even come close, but the judges seem to not agree right now.

Nope, it was a single, look at the protocols. They were planning a triple.

I agree, they are amazing. By far and away, the best pairs teams in the World. Wonderful technical content that is beautifully executed (when they are clean, I mean), basic skating, creativity, choreography, charisma...they have it all. They just need to skate clean. I totally agree about the Zhangs - their component scores baffle me.

edit: looking at the protocols, I really like judge number 10. Nice use of the different component scores - for example, giving S&S very high choreography and transition marks (I often wonder why they tend to get lower transition marks when it's one of their higher components). He only gave M&B 4.75 for transitions - which was fair, imo - since they barely had any but 6.50 for skating skills. Good judging, imo.

 

[chuckm]

I've been saying right along that if McLaughlin/Brubaker skated anything close to a clean skate, they'd get great scores, and I was SO right! They beat two seeded teams in this event, so it can't be said that they "lucked out" making it to the GPF.

Keauna is too young to go to Worlds or 4CC this year, and Rockne too old for Junior Worlds, but they are serving notice that they are going to be a team to be reckoned with in the future.

 

[slutskayafan21]

McLaughlin/Brubaker impressed me most with their elements and speed. They have exceptional elements and great speed. They still need to work more on the connection between them and softening their moves a bit in the in betweens, but that will come with experience likely.

I am glad the realize the Germans made multiple mistakes, I would hate to think that was their score with only one mistake. It still shows they can beat the Zhangs if they put it all together but their inconsistency is worrying. The Zhangs so far look much more reliable to do a clean skate, that combined with their inflated scores is a problem for the Germans who arent yet doing enough clean skates, especialy in the long program. Can they replace the side by side triple salchows with another triple toe with the first already done in combination? Maybe they should since they never land it cleanly yet this season.

 

[riceplate]

Aliona looked more disgusted of the two...yet to skate a perfect free this season (and since Euros?)

You can view their performance HERE. (no commentary)

 

[oleada]

The triple salchow is getting better, though. At SC, he singled it. At CoR, he fell on a rotated one. This time, he just stepped out. She's landed it every time.

For the last couple of seasons, S/S have skated their best around the GPF and Europeans. Hopefully this year they can carry that to Worlds.

 

[nadster]

Can they replace the side by side triple salchows with another triple toe with the first already done in combination? Maybe they should since they never land it cleanly yet this season.

No they can't. Any jump that is in the sequence or combo in pairs can't be repeated. They can only repeat the same jump in the combo or sequence itself.

They can do a triple-toe triple-toe combo or sequence and then have a completely different SBS solo jump ( say a double axel). But they can't do triple toe in the combo/sequence and then do triple toe as the solo.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

After all that FANfare of the Ukrainians, they were pushed off the podium. Oh how predictions can be so fervent and then in the end: faulty.

Sad they were pushed off by two teams who should not have been in that group, imo.

I've been toting McLaughlin and Brubaker since following them in Juniors. Despite his relative 'short' size he is built like an ox and I thought they would have great lifts. They do!

Too bad about the age of Keauna, but at least they got a taste of Seniors in NHK.
They'll get a mouthful in the Finals.

I have not seen this on youtube yet. Presume Keauna landed the triple and the throw?

Joe

 

[skatingfan04]

It's a shame that D/D had such a messy skate, but I can't say that I'm upset that they didn't finish higher. I'm happy that they faltered here, only because this is a non scoring event for them, and their flaws allowed another team to reach the final and get a medal while not affecting their place in the final at all. I really don't agree with teams getting a third assignment, so I worked out well for M/B to get silver. I've herd a lot about this team but never actually seen them skate, so I look forward to watching their performance in the final. Have they officially qualified?

 

[MissIzzy]

Yes; in fact, they're getting the fifth spot now, instead of the sixth. It's:

1.Zhang-Zhang
2.Savcehnko-Szolkowy
3.Dubé-Davison
4.Pang-Tong
5.McLaughlin-Brubaker
6.Kawaguchi-Smirnov

Or thereabouts; I haven't checked who among the second three have higher totals.

 

[C_T_T_]

S/S
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071130/4...7818806a072157
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071130/i...1002343346.jpg
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071130/4...ea7d71630dbe3d
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071130/i...2119192588.jpg
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071130/i...2224661223.jpg
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071130/4...54ae0d55ed701c
M/B
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071130/4...c0f5f8b02d01e4
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071130/4...f8706d60f68b1d
D/D
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071130/4...3520dd92451a9c
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071130/4...017571ab656976

 

[chuckm]

Yes; in fact, they're getting the fifth spot now, instead of the sixth. It's:

1.Zhang-Zhang 30 points (2 gold)
2.Savcehnko-Szolkowy 28 points (gold and silver)
3.Dubé-Davison 28 points (gold and silver)
4.Pang-Tong 28 points (gold and silver)
5.McLaughlin-Brubaker 26 points (2 silver)
6.Kawaguchi-Smirnov 22 points (2 bronze)

Or thereabouts; I haven't checked who among the second three have higher totals.

M/B would have finished in the fifth spot for the GPF if they had finished 4th or better because they had a silver medal and K/S had bronze.

Second was amazing!

 

[slutskayafan21]

It will be intersting if McLaughlin/Brubaker can becomes the new U.S Champions this year. They look like the best American pair probably unless Inoue/Baldin really come back at 100%. Then again the U.S may want to show support for the teams going to Worlds.

 

[oleada]

After all that FANfare of the Ukrainians, they were pushed off the podium. Oh how predictions can be so fervent and then in the end: faulty.

:sheesh:. I wasn't even predicting anything in my original post, and I also talked about how inconsistent they were. I said that if they skated CLEAN, they could beat D&D. They didn't.

 

[chuckm]

:sheesh:. I wasn't even predicting anything in my original post, and I also talked about how inconsistent they were. I said that if they skated CLEAN, they could beat D&D. They didn't.

But D/D didn't skate clean, either. In fact the team who had the least mistakes was McLaughlin / Brubaker.

You were insinuating that maybe M/B wouldn't make the final because V/M would win silver and outscore them, when what actually happened was M/B won silver.

I had hoped for bronze for M/B and was thrilled that they beat D/D for silver.

 

[MissIzzy]

I don't know, the fact remains that they might not have won that silver if the two teams ahead of them hadn't bitten it. You can still give them credit; being the only ones to skate relatively clean in a splatfest can always be applauded, and that's exactly what they did. But had all three teams skated clean, the results would have looked different. Even if M&B probably would have made the Finale anyway.