Figure Skaters Online wraps-up the top figure skating headlines and stories of the week in Rink Side. Among the skaters making headlines are Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, Brian Joubert, Andrei Lutai and Ashley Wagner.

Figure Skaters Online wraps-up the top figure skating headlines and stories of the week in Rink Side. Among the skaters making headlines are Rachael Flatt, Jamie Sale and Andre Lutai.

It was far from a personal best performance for Alissa Czisny on Saturday in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. But a personal best short program a day earlier helped keep the 2009 U.S. Champion on the Skate Canada podium. She won silver, becoming the third U.S. lady to win a medal on the Grand Prix this season.

Skating to Camille Saint-Saens “Symphony No. 3,” Jeremy Abbott pulled out all the stops Saturday at Skate Canada in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, landing a quadruple toe in the opening moments of his program. He went on to land seven more triple jumps to secure the gold medal with the 153.99 point program.

Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett were the highest placing American pair at Skate Canada, taking fifth, with a solid performance to “Scheherazade,” which included side-by-side triple toes. Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin were seventh overall.

Before Jeremy Abbott took the ice for his short program at Skate Canada, he received tragic news from Colorado Springs, Colo. His friend Haley Rose Gans, who he knew when training at the Broadmoor Skating Club, had died earlier in the day in a skiing accident at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado when she hit a tree. He dedicated his 79-point, first place short program in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, to his friend.

Alissa Czisny was at her best on Friday. After setting a personal record 63.52 points in the Skate Canada short program in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, the 2009 U.S. Champion is in second place, behind World Championship silver medalist Joannie Rochette (70.00). Mirai Nagasu is third place with 56.34.

Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett are in fifth place after the short program at Skate Canada in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, while their American teammates, Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin, are currently in sixth place. The teams have 55.46 points and 52.42 respectively.

She is not the same Mirai Nagasu that she used to be. But when the 16 year old Nagasu — who is four inches taller than the version that won the 2008 U.S. Championship — takes the ice at Skate Canada on Friday in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, she wants to prove she is still a contender. Evan Lysacek believes she has what it takes.

Fourteen athletes from the United States will compete at Skate Canada in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, against skaters from 14 other countries, all vying for points and prize money in this last of six events in the series. Among the members of Team USA are Jeremy Abbott and Alissa Czisny.