Van Halen's 'Jump' blares from the speakers as I enter the Mastercard Centre for the 'Battle of the Blades' season 3 finale. It's actually appropriate considering all the twirls, spins and yes, jumps, the hockey players and figure skaters have showcased during the third season. The catchy tune is also whipping the crowd into a hand-clapping frenzy, and why not?



The finale's three remaining pairs -- Tessa Bonhomme and David Pelletier, Marie-France Dubreuil and Bryan Berard, and Tanith Belbin and Boyd Devereaux -- put everything out there with two spectacular performances. The first is a brand-new routine while the second has them repeating their favourite routine from earlier in the season.

With a $100,000 grand prize for charity on the line, not to mention bragging rights, the participants bring their A-games. Snazzy dresser Don Cherry joins resident judges Sandra Bezic and Jeremy Roenick and for the only time this year, the panel gives no scores. Instead, the winners are solely determined by Canada's votes.

Finale results and interviews with the pairs after the jump!

It would be really unfair to say that CBC's skating-with-the-stars show 'Battle of the Blades' is failing -- yet that's the word I'm hearing about the show from fellow critics. Unfair because the show is still one the highest-rated on the network, and it's not the CBC show in the worst shape (almost every returning CBC show has fewer viewers this season). But 'BoB's diminishing returns most Sunday nights is worrying, and it's not like the CBC is having an easy time in other quarters: massive budget cuts, vaguely threatening remarks from Conservative politicians and ominous 'Save the CBC' petitions give one the impression the network is under siege.

'Battle of the Blades' is the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of reality competitions. It takes athletes from two sports, figure skating and hockey, and combines them into one surprisingly addictive treat. Premiering Sunday, September 18 on CBC, the series will once again find former NHL players paired with prominent figure skaters to perform choreographed skating routines, with one couple being eliminated every week.

At Etobicoke's Mastercard Centre, recruited hockey stars Cale Hulse, Wade Belak, Curtis Leschyshyn and Brad May, along with figure skating pros Marie-France Dubreuil, Marcy Hinzmann-Harris and Anabelle Langlois, are participating in some on-ice boot camp. It's the first time the hockey players have slipped into figure skates, so it's with mixed (and often hilarious) results. Poor May landed flat on his butt multiple times and Belak took a sudden dive, face first, during a lap around the rink.

Laughing it off, the professionals' humor and determination warmed the chilly building. AOL TV Canada was on-hand to discover seven things 'Blades' fans should know for the third season of 'Battle of the Blades.'