Deanna Stellato-Dudek felt the pressure of competing at home as world champion.

The boisterous Canadian crowd upped the ante when she and Maxime Deschamps took the ice on Friday evening.

“I actually noticed the difference in the volume of our announcement compared to everyone else's. It was so noticeable,” Stellato-Dudek said. “I felt stressed and just wanted to do well.”

Those nerves barely showed as the Canadian pair picked up where they left off on home soil, taking first place in the Skate Canada International short program seven months after winning world championship gold in Montreal.

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps skated to a remix of Beyonce's “Crazy In Love” and scored 73.23 points at the Scotiabank Center to open their second competition of the season.

“It was great to be in front of our home crowd for the first time since the World Cup – that was great,” said Deschamps. “We have done a lot of things that we have improved since the last competition and we are happy with that.”

VIEW | Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps lead after short program:

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps in 1st place after the pairs short program at Skate Canada International

World champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada lead the pairs competition at Skate Canada International after scoring 73.23 points in the short program.

A small stumble on her throwing triple loop prevented her from reaching her goal of “high 70s.”

But after winning silver at the Nebelhorn Trophy in September, they will now be in charge and repeat as gold medalists at Skate Canada, 8.41 points ahead of the competition.

Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel of Germany took second place (64.82) and Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore of Australia were third (64.81).

“We achieved everything we wanted to achieve here,” said Stellato-Dudek. “But we obviously didn’t put the litter on the list.”

Stellato-Dudek left the sport for 15 years and returned in 2016 before eventually becoming Deschamps' ninth partner.

The ageless skaters, now world champions, insist they are looking ahead to the 2026 Olympics with razor-sharp focus.

With the help of sports psychologists, they also learn to deal with their new reality and their expectations as the best team in the world.

“I definitely feel the pressure, but the pressure really comes from within yourself,” Stellato-Dudek said. “I've always put pressure on myself, but this year I feel it even more and I'm actually trying to work on it because it's very hard.”

Live streaming coverage of the event continues Saturday at 12:15 p.m. ET (CBCSports.ca. CBC Gem).

VIEW | Three-time world champion Sakamoto from Japan leads after the short program:

Madeline Schizas places 5th after the women's short program at Skate Canada International

Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., is in fifth place after the women's short program at Skate Canada International with a score of 65.28.

Later Friday, Kaori Sakamoto of Japan dominated with a dynamic tango routine to take the commanding lead in the women's short program.

The three-time world champion scored 74.97 points ahead of Alysa Liu of the USA (67.68), who was competing in her first Grand Prix event since retiring in April 2022. Kimmy Repond of Switzerland (66.94) was third.

Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., finished fifth, just behind the top three in 65.28, after completing a joyful, mistake-free run to the music of “The Lion King.”

After an up and down season last season, 21-year-old Schizas was beaming as she completed her first two jumps. At the end of the program, she pumped her first steps and shouted “Yes!” to the crowd.

“It was a good skate for me. Strong performance,” said Schizas. “I was happy with how it went, but it's also a happy piece of music. It’s hard not to smile.”

VIEW | Schizas takes 5th place after the short program:

Japan's Kaori Sakamoto leads after the women's short program at Skate Canada International

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan takes first place in the women's competition at Skate Canada International after scoring 74.97 points in the short program.

By using the same routine during the show's season and starting her season early, Schizas said she is already approaching 20 appearances on “The Lion King.”

“This is a big help. I know the music so well and it all gives me confidence,” she said.

“I haven't seen the entire film. I’ll just admit it.”

A year ago, Schizas set a career-best performance during the long program at Skate Canada in Vancouver. She hopes to have another outstanding performance and a podium finish in Halifax within reach.

Reigning national champion Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary finished seventh (57.66), while Sara-Maude Dupuis of Montreal finished ninth (54.15) in the field of 12 runners.

Kelly Ann Laurin of Saint-Jerome, Que., and Loucas Ethier of St-Alphonse, Que., took last place (52.16) in the eight-team two-man competition.

The rhythm dance and men's short programs take place on Saturday afternoon, followed by the pair and women's free program in the evening. The competition ends on Sunday afternoon with the men's free skate and the free dance.

The Grand Prix, the top series in figure skating, consists of six competitions and a final. Skate Canada is the second event this year after the event began last week at Skate America.

You can also check out more figure skating coverage here CBC Sports Presentsour weekly show that spotlights the best high-performance athletes from Canada and around the world. Hosted by Brenda Irving and joined by Kurt Browning and Carol Lane, the show is available to stream on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. ET and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET.

VIEW | Repetition of the women's short program:

ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: Women's Short Program from Skate Canada International

Watch the women's short program from Skate Canada International at the 2024 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Halifax.