Marie-France Dubreuil (left), Jamie Sale and Shae-Lynn Bourne, the three female finalists in CBC's Battle of the Blades, cozy up to special guest judge Doug Gilmour before their final performances last night. The winners will be announced tonight.

Considering they were skating on thin ice, the Battle of the Blades' top-3 couples sure weren't afraid to turn up the heat last night.

Ex-NHLers Craig Simpson, Claude Lemieux and Stephane Richer -- and their adorable pro figure skater partners Jamie Sale, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Marie-France Dubreuil -- pulled out all the stops for their final performances of the highly popular CBC reality TV skate-off. The grace, the lifts, the costumes -- why, they were all so magical. Now, let's reflect with a play-by-play.

:00: Ah, the familiar tune of Bryan Adams' There Will Never Be Another Tonight. Never before has a reality TV show theme song conjured memories of faded denim jackets and cold nights at the community club rink.

:03: Speaking of denim, didn't co-hosts Kurt Browning and Ron McLean consult each other before selecting their outfits for the show? They're wearing the exact same jeans, and basically the same shirts, in different hues. How embarrassing!

:04: Great news: Marie-France's back healed in time for her to perform on tonight's show! Who woulda thought?!

:09: Tonight's celebrity guest judge, joining regulars Dick Button and Sandra Bezic on the panel, is ... used to standing ovations in this very building? Why, it must be former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Doug Gilmour! A figure skating genius, I'll bet.

:12: Olympic gold medalist Jamie Sale and ex-Edmonton Oiler Craig Simpson -- skating for the Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Centre (Northern Alberta) Society -- are up first. Their song choice is, unfortunately, the excessively overplayed Black Eyed Peas' I Gotta Feeling. And there's not enough time in the day to discuss Simpson's second-skin T-shirt (let's just say it coordinates with Sale's metallic silver pants). It seems a little choppy, at parts, but what do I know? The judges are eating it up ("Good for you," encourages Gilmour; "Who else would take on Austin Powers?" Button says of the pair's piece two weeks back), a teary Sale is so proud of her partner and the scores are perfect 6.0s across the board. The bar is officially set -- and it's sky-high.

:25: Shy Shae-Lynn Bourne and playoff wonder Claude Lemieux -- skating for Make-A-Wish Canada -- are up next, and they've wisely chosen a passionate ballad (A Moment Like This) for their sendoff routine. How she avoids slicing his face while coming down from that last list is beyond me. There's no doubt Lemieux is the guy candy of the bunch; even Button calls him a "satin-shirted romantic lady killer." And Bezic is downright smitten. Like Simpson, that earns him three 6.0s. OK, now I'm seeing a bit of a perfect-score pattern.

:33: Last but not least, Marie-France Dubreuil and Stephane Richer -- skating for the MA Foundation -- take the ice as "90-second lovers" (their own term of endearment for each other). She's coming off a back injury and he's got a bad shoulder -- so expectations aren't exactly up there. But really, who needs slick moves when you've got a connection like these two hopeless romantics, performing to Kenny Rogers' Lady? "I'm toast," Bezic says to Richer after the two come out of their bubble. "You make every single woman who's watching want to be Marie-France." Am I the exception? Well, maybe. Any other ladies want to toss me their opinions?

:35: And the scores? Let me guess: 6.0, 6.0 and 6.0. Yep, that's right.

:48: Black and white flashback clips from the good ol' hockey days. McLean reminiscing on Maple Leaf Gardens' past. Um, no offense to anyone, but this feels like a good time for a bathroom break.

:53: The final three couples are performing to INXS's Never Tear Us Apart, and it feels like some sort of emotional sendoff. Am I the only one bearing in mind that there's still another whole one-hour episode left? Speaking of which ...

:57: ... "It's going to be an exciting night, (tonight)," McLean says. Well, yeah! Only one pair can win the Battle -- and a $100,000 cheque for their charity -- during part two of the big finale. Also on the show: Co-host Kurt Browning will turn up the quirk for a solo performance, and all eight pairs from the competition will hit the ice to perform a group number. Until then, consider my breath bated.