Chalk up one more for Germany.

For the eighth straight year, Germany swept the overall World Cup podium in women's luge. Tatjana Hüfner, Natalie Geisenberger and Anke Wischnewski kept every other competitor from winning a single event. With those three ladies on the circuit, no one was better than the German squad in this event.

Except, for one shining moment, Erin Hamlin.

In a shocking upset in February the American slider earned herself the world title on her home track in Lake Placid, upsetting the Germans and forcing Geisenberger to settle for silver. Huefner and Wischnewski were bounced right off the podium.

"It feels good to finally beat them (the German women)," Hamlin said in February. "At the same time, it will take a lot to stay up here, that's for sure. But who knows, anything can happen in luge.''

Anything, indeed. Canada has not traditionally been strong in any luge event and has yet to earn an Olympic medal in the sport. But promise is sparkling in 21-year-old Alex Gough. Gough was Canada's surprise of the season, finishing eighth overall and taking fourth place at the championships. She attributed her impressive North American results to home-track advantage. Good news with the Vancouver Games on the horizon.

"It shows when you take (the Germans) off the four German tracks and the European tracks which they've had hundreds and hundreds of runs on, it evens it out a little bit,'' Gough said after her fourth-place finish.

Her teammates, however, were unable to enjoy the same level of success. Meaghan Simister finished 13th overall while veteran slider Regan Lauscher, fresh off surgery to both shoulders, sat out the season's first three races to recover and finished 23rd.

In the men's World Cup season, Italy's Armin Zöggeler held off David Möller of Germany for a fourth straight year. The World Cup title was the eighth of Zöggeler's career.

The veteran athlete - known as "Il Cannibale" or "The Cannibal" on the circuit for his icy concentration as he slides past his competition - won in convincing fashion, taking five of nine competitions. Möller was no match for his more experienced rival, winning just one World Cup gold all year... but the win was a big one, coming in Whistler, B.C. on the track that will host the event in 2010.

Vancouver's Jeff Christie was Canada's top finisher with a 19th-place standing. His best result was a 12th in Koennigssee. Sam Edney of Calgary managed to top Christie in the Canadian championships for the gold medal but finished the season just 21st overall.

In the doubles event, Italy proved its mettle with two major accomplishments this season: Gerhard Plankensteiner and Oswald Haselrieder earned themselves the world title at the championships in Lake Placid, N.Y., while compatriots Christian Oberstolz and Patrick Gruber were tops on the World Cup Circuit.

Plankensteiner and Haselrieder set a new track record on their first run of the New York competition, clocking 43.641 seconds. The duo beat out strong German competitors and the American hosts for the gold.

On the World Cup circuit, it was Oberstolz and Gruber's first World Cup title since 2005. The duo seemed truly at home on the top of the podium, earning the Crystal Globe by more than 100 points.

Canada's doubles team of Chris and Mike Moffat sat out the first three races of the season as Chris recovered from a broken wrist.

The duo still managed to pull off a 17th-place finish to the season, posting three top-10 results including a ninth in Whistler. They followed up with a 10th-place finish at the Worlds.

Despite Chris's quick recuperation, the Moffats were still hoping for better results - especially on the Whistler Olympic track.

"It's disappointing," Mike Moffat said of their performance. "Chris and I had much higher expectations - a minimum of top eight. But again, it was a test event today. This is a preview for the Olympics, it's not the Olympics."

- With files from The Canadian Press