After Sherrard forced an extra end Saturday morning with a steal of three points in the eighth end, Miller posted a single in the 10th for an 8-7 victory on Sheet A in Fredericton.
Sherrard of Rothesay, N.B., is attempting to become only the fourth skip since 1950 to win back-to-back junior titles and the first since John Morris in 1998-99.
"We know what it's like to have a home crowd – it's awesome," Sherrard, 18, told the Saint John Telegraph-Journal before the tournament. "The goal is going to be to win the gold."
Defending men's champion Ryan Sherrard lost his first match at the 2005 Canadian junior men's and women's curling championship on Saturday. (CP File Photo)
Sherrard's rink, out of the Riverside Country Club, fell behind 2-0 in the first of nine ends but managed to claw back and take a 3-2 lead entering the fourth.
A resilient Miller added two points in the fourth end and stole three more in the seventh to go up 7-4. Sherrard, though, answered with his own three-spot in the eighth end.
The men's field features all three medallists from last year's junior tournament.
Newfoundland's Matthew Blandford, who dropped a 6-5 decision to Sherrard in the 2004 final, routed Steve Howard of Prince Edward Island 9-4 Saturday on Sheet E.
Daley Peters, the 2004 bronze medallist and son of 1992 Brier champion Vic Peters, was scheduled to face Miller in a Draw 2 match on Sheet C at 2 p.m. ET.
In other Draw 1 games, Saskatchewan's Kyle George routed Mark Bice of Ontario 7-2 and Nova Scotia's Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc handled Tyrel Griffith of British Columbia 9-4.
On the women's side, 2003 bronze medallist Desiree Robertson of Alberta edged New Brunswick's Andrea Kelly 6-5 on Sheet B.
Kelly of the host Capital Winter Club was a semifinalist at last year's event.
On Sheet F, 19-year-old Meaghan Hughes of P.E.I. clobbered Newfoundland skip Stacie Devereaux 12-5; Saskatchewan's Robyn Silvernagle outlasted Ontario's Erin Morrissey; and Nova Scotia's Morgan Muise defeated Sarah Wark's B.C. rink 7-4.
Thirteen men's and 13 women's teams are participating at this year's championship – the first event in the 2005 Season of Champions – at the Capital Winter Club and Lady Beaverbrook Rink.
The top teams from round-robin play gain a bye to their respective finals. The second- and third-place squads meet in the semifinals.
The men's and women's finals will be broadcast live on CBC Sports. The men's championship is Feb. 12 at 12 p.m. ET, while the women's final is Feb. 13 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Winners will represent Canada at the world junior championships, March 3-13 in Pinerolo, Italy. Pinerolo also will stage the curling competition during the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.
