Once through the Preliminary Round, tiny Belarus, a former Soviet Republic, found itself swimming in the pool with the Big Six. Belarus went 0-3 in the seeding portion of the tournament. But a love affair with the fans was struck when Belarus and goaltender Andrei Mezin hung on for almost half the game in its 8-1 loss to the U.S.
Belarus faced Sweden in the quarterfinal round after that loss. The Belorussians were expected to turn up for the game and head home. But they had other ideas, upsetting the Swedes 4-3 in what amounted to the Miracle On Ice for Belarus.
The E-Center, filled with North American fans, got into the habit of cheering "Bela-roos! Bela-roos!" Given the American penchant for supporting underdogs, the boys in red, white and green were the perfect fit.
"I should say this is the first time outside of Europe when the crowd was so friendly and cheered for us," Belorussian captain Aleksandr Andrievsky said. "I should say thank you."
The chants were heard throughout Belarus' 7-1 loss to Canada in the semifinals and as the players exited the ice after their 7-2 loss to Russia in the bronze medal game, the house stood, applauded and chanted for their heroes one last time.
Throughout the tournament, the Belorussians refused to quit. Even while trailing 4-2 to the Russians in the third period, they still believed they could manage another miracle.
"As we say in Belarus, 'Hope is the last to die', but after the fifth goal we knew it was over," Andrievsky said.
It was over for the Olympic tournament, but it's really just the beginning for Belorussian hockey.
"I think it's really positive," Salei said. "We accomplished a great deal."
Belorussian hockey has turned a corner. Their performance on the Olympic stage has had a positive affect at home. The current team is an older group of players who were schooled under the Soviet hockey system.
The miracle against Sweden will spur new interest in hockey and, like it did for the United States in 1980, help grow the pool of players.
On the negative side, Belarus might find that they will have a harder time sneaking up on teams during the World Championships this spring.
"I think now it's going to be harder for us because now everyone is going to take us seriously and play as hard against us as we did against Sweden," Andrievsky said.
But for now, Belarus will take to time bask in the glow of this Olympiad.
"We're very happy about our performance," Krikunov said. "All my players are in a very good mood right now. This is something they will remember not only for the Games, but for their whole lives. We really made the people of Belarus happy after we played with Sweden and I'm sure they are still celebrating."
