Turkey sees positives in 42-0 ice hockey thrashing

It must be hard to find positives when your side is on the wrong end of a 42-0 hiding in ice hockey but Turkey have done just that.

The lop-sided scoreline happened in a match against Russia at the biennial European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) that the Turks are hosting.

Sure the result was less than flattering for the Turkish team, but for a country where less than 600 kids play the sport compared to Russia's 87,000 - it's hardly surprising.

"This is the first time that the team has played against a world giant," Turkish Ice Hockey Federation president Bulent Akay was quoted as saying.

"We will continue our path with these guys and form a successful national team in the future."

Turkish media was quick to point out that this was by no means anywhere near the biggest thrashing the sport has ever seen.

That 'honour' goes to a Bulgarian women's team who were defeated 82-0 against Slovakia in 2008.