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Joannie Rochette.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

KITCHENER, Ont. -- Joannie Rochette produced the best short program of her career at HomeSense Skate Canada International on Friday, proving perhaps that sometimes her coach knows best.

The 23-year-old from Ile-Dupas, Que., jumped and spun her way to a personal best 70.00 points with her near-flawless tango to "La Cumparsita," bringing the red-clad crowd at The Aud to its feet.

Her dazzling score comes a month after a disastrous short program at the Cup of China that left Rochette in seventh place, admittedly her own fault after she botched a triple-triple combination that had never been part of the program in the first place.

"I kind of changed it without my coach's consent," said Rochette, who managed to claw her way back to the podium to win bronze in China. "I really wanted to challenge myself and I did not follow the plan so I think that's when I learned the importance of a plan and sticking to it."

Rochette opened Friday with a clean triple Lutz-double toe combination and followed it up with a triple flip, topping the 67.90 she scored en route to her silver medal at last spring's world championships.

American Alissa Czisny was second with 63.52, while her U.S. teammate Mirai Nagasu sat third with 56.34. Cynthia Phaneuf of Contrecoeur, Que., was fourth with 55.58, while Amelie Lacoste of Delson, Que., was fifth with 55.10.

Canadian ice dance duo Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir had a strong opening day, winning the compulsory dance -- the Tango Romantica.

Earlier in the day, Canada's Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison were third in the pairs short program, their marks tumbling after Dube singled a planned triple Salchow.

Rochette was thrilled with her score because there's still obvious room for improvement -- she didn't earn full marks for her spins or spiral sequence. But she continues to improve, and that's a welcome sign just under three months out from the Vancouver Olympics.

"If you knew me from five years ago, I wasn't the same girl I am now," said Rochette, who's gunning for her third Skate Canada gold. "It didn't happen overnight for me. I climb up the ranks slowly but surely.

"I still can improve with this but I'm really excited, it's my first time in the 70s, last year was my first year in the 60s... so you know what? For a 23-year-old (older than most of her competitors), not bad hey? It shows me that this program can take me where I want to go."

As for the triple-triple combination that has caused Rochette problems, she routinely lands them in practice, and has a triple-triple sequence in her long program, but there's no room for error in the short program -- China was proof of that.

"The plan was not to put it in the first competition. She did it and...," her coach Manon Peron said. "She doesn't need it. In the short program, you cannot make a mistake, so be safe, use the elements that you already have and go and pick up all the points that you can."

Following China, Rochette said she worked hard on her mental focus, and it clearly paid off.

"I think we found a way for me to be feeling better," Rochette said. "My goal tonight when I stepped on the ice was to feel more calm and more relaxed and I think I achieved that. I still think I can do better, so it's encouraging for the rest of the season."

Virtue, from London, Ont., and Moir, from Ilderton, Ont., scored 40.69 with their compulsory dance. Natalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France were second with 35.55, while Kaitlyn Weaver of Toronto and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., were third with 32.18.

Virtue and Moir missed Skate Canada last year because Moir was recovering from surgery on both her legs to alleviate chronic shin pain.

"It's so fun," Virtue said on being back. "I'm certainly not taking it for granted, that's for sure. I remember being so sad that I missed it last year, so it feels great to get back, and hopefully we're off to a good start and we can keep it going."

Dube, from St-Cyrille-de-Wendover, Que., and Davison, from Huntsville, Ont., won silver at last month's Grand Prix in France, but the two, who skated to "Requiem for a Dream" were docked significant marks for their side-by-side triple Salchows when Dube pulled up and only did a single, earning just 0.1 points for the element.

"I felt really good, I guess my timing was a little bit too quick," Dube said. "I don't really know what happened. I'll just do it tomorrow."

World champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, skated to a commanding lead with 74.16 points. Russians Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov were second with 65.80, while Dube, from St-Cyrille-de-Wendover, Que., and Davison, from Huntsville, Ont., finished third with 57.90.

Anabelle Langlois of Hull, Que., and Cody Hay of Barrie, Ont., were fourth with 55.52 in their first Skate Canada appearance in two seasons.

Canada's men's star Patrick Chan took the ice for the men's short program later Friday to cap the day's competition.