Maple Leafs sign U Sports champion goalie to serve as backup in regular season finale

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed goaltender Samuel Richard to an amateur tryout Thursday.

Richard, who played with the U Sports champion University of New Brunswick Reds this season, will serve as backup to starting goaltender Joseph Woll on Thursday against the New York Rangers.

Usual starter Ilya Samsonov has been ruled out for the regular-season finale, while netminder Matt Murray is out with a concussion.

It's the fourth consecutive game the Maple Leafs will dress a goalie on an amateur tryout as a backup, the first of which they played University of Toronto netminder Jett Alexander in the final minute of a 7-1 thrashing of the Montreal Canadiens.

Richard had an 18-4 record with a .933 save percentage and a 1.59 goals-against average in U Sports this season. The 22-year-old from Ste-Catherine, Que., played his previous three seasons with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

The Maple Leafs begin their first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning next week.