New York Rangers bury Bern hockey team

The New York Rangers have thrashed Switzerland's top ice hockey team, SC Bern, by a margin of 8-1 in an historic exhibition game in the Swiss capital.

Tuesday evening’s match in Bern was the first time in 49 years that the Rangers, one of the original six teams in the National Hockey League, played in Switzerland.

They were in town as part of the first Victoria Cup tournament.

Bern dropped to 2-0 in the first period in front of over 16,000 fans, having started the opening 20 minutes of the game with impressive play.

But the team’s four penalties in the first period had opened the door for the Rangers to build up a lead.

The second period remained scoreless and at 41:02 in the game, Canadian Travis Roche scored Bern’s only goal against Rangers goalie Steve Valiquette, bringing the game to 2-1.

New York bounced back on a 5-3 powerplay, with superstar forward Scott Gomez adding another goal before the North American side flooded the Swiss net with another five.

The Rangers play European champions Metallurg Magnitogorsk from Russia on Wednesday.