By Jennifer Ditchburn, The Canadian Press

MONTREAL - Canada scooped up three medals at the short-track speedskating World Cup on Saturday, two of them going to Charles Hamelin who calmly staved off fierce competition in the 1,500 and 500 metres.

Kalyna Roberge won the silver in the women's 500, hot on the heels of Chinese skater Wang Meng, the world record holder.

The national Olympic team is looking at their haul on Saturday as a welcome shot of confidence before the Games this February.

The crowd at the Maurice Richard Arena was boisterious, flapping cardboard fans and cheering wildly for the Canadian and American skaters on the ice.

Hamelin, of Levis, Que., won by only a thousandth of a second over South Korean Sung Si-Bak. In the 500, he coolly held off American star Apolo Anton Ohno who was at his shoulder the entire race.

"I think the message is starting to be sent that the Canadians are really strong on pretty much all the distances," said Hamelin, the current world-record holder in the 1,000 and an Olympic medallist from the Turin Games.

Teammate Francois-Louis Tremblay, of Alma, Que., came in fourth in the 500.

Roberge, of St-Etienne-de-Lauzon, Que., said her win in the 500 gave her confidence that Meng is not invincible.

"She's strong, but I think I can beat her and I can fight with her, so I think it's a good opportunity for me just for my confidence and just to prove what I can do," Roberge said.

These were welcome victories after a rollercoaster of an afternoon for the Canadians, who faced several disappointments.

For the second time at the meet, Olivier Jean of Lachenaie, Que., was disqualified for impeding another skater. This time, in the semifinals of the 1,500, Jean tangled with American Jeff Simon. On Friday, he was disqualified in the 1,000 for blocking a German skater.

Jean did not hide his frustration, saying he had spent the evening before relaxing with friends and family to be mentally ready for Saturday's action.

"I was doing a great race, and I was following the match plan, trying to be close to the front, and with five laps to go I was in front, but I kind of misread the speed I was going," said Jean.

"I thought I was going fast enough but I was going too slow and two skaters passed me and that put me in a difficult position and I had to catch up and do some passes that lead to the mistake."

Jean did not place in the finals of the 500 later in the day.

Jessica Gregg of Edmonton was also disqualified for impeding, in the women's 500 semifinals.

In the women's 1,500 semifinals, Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Que., was sent skidding across the ice to the boards after she was bumped by American Allison Baver. Baver was disqualified, but Maltais did not secure a spot in the finals.

Roberge, of St-Etienne de Lauzon, Que., also faced disappointment in her 1,500 heat, missing her spot in the final by only two-tenths of a second in a third-place finish that had to be verified by officials.

The women's 1,500 final proceeded without a Canadian in the race. American Katherine Reutter edged out her main South Korean rival Cho Ha-Ri in the competition.

The athletes are working to secure spots in Olympic competition this February in Vancouver. The results from this week will be combined with rankings next weekend in Marquette, Mich.

Although the Canadians have had a number of ups and downs at this World Cup, they are still expected to come out with a respectable ranking that will ensure them the maximum of three berths in each distance at the Games. Canada automatically gets one spot in each distance, as well as a team in the relay races.