Kwan fell on a triple loop and doubled out on three other planned triple jumps, handing the afternoon's final skater Julia Soldatova a golden opportunity to grab top spot.

Canada's Jennifer Robinson, 22, who sat second going into the final freeskate, slipped to third after committing errors on three triple jumps.

"I had a lot of omissions in my program. I could have been a little tougher out there," said Kwan, 19. "When I went into the triple-triple (jump combination), I thought I was going to do it so it kind of startled me when I didn't.

"I blame it all on the ice," she joked in reference to men's champ Alexei Yagudin's suggestion that too-soft ice played a role in his poor performance Saturday night.

Through an interpreter, Soldatova said, "I was pleased with the first half of my program. The second half wasn't quite ready yet but it will be ready for my next competition."

For Kwan, it was her second Grand Prix win in as many weeks. With her victory at Skate America, the U.S. champion has qualified for the Grand Prix series final next January.

"I would say last week's performance was about a nine-and-a-half. This week's performance was a six or seven. I just didn't feel I was tough out there. I was disappointed," Kwan said.

Long-time coach Frank Carroll offered, "We were not satisfied with her skate. I don't think it's terrible. It's bittersweet that she won the competition but she's not satisfied with herself.

"She needs to be tougher, not give an inch. Like any other sport, if you want to win you don't give way to a mistake, you recover," Carroll added.

"You have to be self-critical if you are champion and she has a lot of people telling her she's the greatest thing in the world. It's good for her to realize that sometimes she's not the greatest in the world and that are areas she can improve on," he continued.

Kwan, a freshman at UCLA, said she was glad to have some time before her next competition -- a pro-am in Washington state in December -- to get her school and skating juggling act together. Kwan arranged to fly home to Los Angeles Sunday night since she has mid-term examinations to write beginning Monday.

In addition to the gold, the 19-year-old Kwan wins $30,000 in prize money bringing her two-week take to $60,000.

For her efforts, Soldatova takes home $18,000 while Robinson earns $10,000. Skate Canada's other victors in Saint John this week included Russians Alexei Yagudin in men's, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze in pairs, and Lithuanians Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas in ice dance.

Skate Canada was the second stop on the six-event ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating.

Competitions in France, Russia and Japan follow. The series culminates in January with the final for the top points-getters in Lyon, France.