Kings, Rangers Play at Arena

After more than a month of promoting tonight’s exhibition between the Kings and New York Rangers as a matchup between the National Hockey League’s all-time scoring leader, Wayne Gretzky, vs. the 1991-92 MVP, Mark Messier, the Gulls on Tuesday changed course.

“We better start touting Luc Robitaille,” joked Gull vice president Don Waddell.

Waddell, while at the time unaware of the seriousness of Gretzky’s injury, accurately gauged what happened later Tuesday during a news conference where it was announced a back injury would sideline Gretzky at least until January and possibly for the season. The injury also poses a threat to Gretzky’s career.

The mood of the Gull front office turned somber after the announcement.

“We’re not worried about ourselves,” said Bill Hunter, vice president in charge of marketing. “We’re pulling for Wayne to get better. He’s good friends with some in our ownership group.”

Face-off is 7:30, and tickets range from $20 to $35. Between 9,000 and 10,000 are expected.

Hunter said if projections are realized, it would be the NHL’s top neutral-site preseason crowd. The league keeps no attendance records, but a Kings-Pittsburgh game Sunday in Portland drew only 6,000.

Tonight’s expected attendance would dwarf the 6,000 who paid to get into the Sports Arena last Thursday for a charity basketball game featuring NBA all-stars, and the 6,601 who paid their way into the stadium for Tuesday’s Padres game.

It hasn’t hurt that the Gulls trumpeted the exhibition by airing 500 television spots between Saturday and Wednesday.

MEN’S SOCCER

UC San Diego, the defending NCAA Division III champion, suffered a 4-0 loss to Claremont College at UCSD. It was the third consecutive loss for UCSD (4-3-1), a winless string that comes on the heels of a 17-game unbeaten streak that began last year.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

University of San Diego was lifted by a goal and an assist from freshman forward Mindy Campbell in a 3-2 victory over Azusa Pacific. USD (3-3) also got goals from two other freshmen, Kelly Arthur and Elaine Milligan.

Azusa Pacific fell to 2-5.

UCSD scored a 1-0 victory in San Antonio, Texas, over Trinity University in a nonconference meeting. The Tritons, ranked fourth nationally in the latest NCAA Division III poll, scored 5 minutes, 32 seconds into the second half as Jennifer Ewert, a freshman from Bonita Vista, took in an assist from Katy Dulock, a two-time All-America.

Freshman goalie Cari Schwartz had six saves for UCSD (3-0). Trinity, ranked seventh in the Division III South Region, is 5-2.

UCSD held a 12-6 edge in shots on goal.

San Diego State moved to 2-3-1 for the season after playing UC Irvine to a 0-0 overtime tie.