Dylan Johnston and his Northern Ontario rink are off to the men's final of the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Salmon Arm, B.C. — and they have Nova Scotia's Paul Dexter to thank for it.

Johnston finished the round robin with a 9-3 record following a 6-5 upset loss to Newfoundland and Labrador's Cory Schuh in Friday's late draw, and looked headed for Saturday's semifinal.

Alberta's Kevin Yablonski had the inside track on first place, but went off the rails in Friday's late draw, when Dexter scored three in the 10th end for a 8-7 win.

That, along with tiebreaking rules, earned Johnston a bye to Sunday's final.

P.E.I.'s Brent Gallant finished the round robin with a 9-3 record after routing Colin Miller of the Northwest Territories 13-5 in eight ends Friday night, but had to settle for second place. He lost to Johnston earlier in the week.

Gallant and Yablonski will meet in the semifinal on Saturday.

In women's play, Ontario's Rachel Homan clinched a bye to Sunday's final with a 10-2 record, after beating Brooklyn Lemon's Saskatchewan rink 9-2 Friday night.

Alberta's Casey Scheidegger lost a shot at first place when Nova Scotia's Marie Christianson stole two in the 10th end for a 9-8 win.

Scheidegger (9-3) will face Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes, the defending champion, in Saturday's semifinal, with the winner taking on Homan in Sunday's final.

Lawes (8-4) clinched third place by defeating New Brunswick's Ashley Howard 7-3 Friday.

British Columbia's Kelly Shimizu (6-6) missed a chance for a possible tiebreaker berth when she lost to Northern Ontario's Vanessa Maloney 5-4, then lost 8-6 to Quebec's Kristen Richard in the late draw.