Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov led the United States with a second-place finish in the pairs short program to open 2026 Skate Canada International.  

Their short program, set to Donna Summer's "Last Dance," opened with a Level 4 triple twist lift that garnered 7.54 points. The Norwood, Massachusetts-based team fell out of synchronization on their side-by-side triple Salchows; however, they went on to earn Level 4s on their Group 3 lift, forward inside death spiral and pairs combination spin.  

The skate secured an overall score of 70.32 points, positioning them in second place ahead of tomorrow's free skate.  

Although the pair believes they have plenty of room to grow, they remain excited about where they stand at their first competition of the 2026-27 season.  

"For our first time, I think we're very happy," said Mitrofanov on their performance. "We definitely know there's a lot of small mistakes that we've made, and we're like, 'Okay, we can definitely improve upon this.' So it felt very chaotic on the ice, like, 'What's going on?' and that kind of thing, because it's also our first time doing a happy program and that kind of thing. But this has been a great eye-opener. This is what we have to work on right now, going back for the next competition." 

Liam Kapeikis represented the United States in the men's event. Skating to the upbeat 2000s classic "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet, he opened with a triple flip worth 6.89 points. His two level 4 spins also contributed to his overall score, 70.07, which placed him 10th after the men's short program.  

Although some elements of the program did not go how Kapeikis hoped — he fell on his triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination and his triple Axel was called as underrotated by the judges — he emphasized the importance of bouncing back and focusing on enjoying his free skate.  

"[My goal for the free skate is to] just go out and have fun," he said after his program's conclusion. "Overall, my goal for tomorrow is just have as much fun as I can, get the audience to have as much fun as they can and to enjoy my performance." 

Competition continues Saturday with the women's short program, rhythm dance and the men's and pairs free skates.  

Fans can watch every event live on Peacock with all competition segments available for 72 hours following their conclusion. NBCSN will air Saturday's men's and pairs free skates, which begin at 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. ET, respectively.  

For full results, visit the Grand Prix Series Competition Central.