After losing to Belarus in the semifinals, a Swedish newspaper commemorated the event by printing a mock stamp of Tommy Salo surrendering the game-winning 75-foot goal. Russia, motivated by that turn of events and its loss to the U.S. in the semifinals, didn't want to experience the same fate Saturday at the E-Center.

The Russians recovered in time from their loss to the Americans and dismantled upstart Belarus 7-2 to take the bronze medal.

"We won the game today because we didn't want to be embarrassed," Russian defenseman Darius Kasparaitis said.

Bronze Medal game: Russia 7, Belarus 2 Belarus earns respect, adoration There are plenty of feel-good stories coming out of these Winter Olympics, but perhaps the biggest is the rise of the Belorussian hockey team. ...more

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Like most of its games in the Olympic tournament, Belarus hung tough with the Russians for more than a period. Kasparaitis gave the Russians a 2-1 lead 11:20 into the first period when he fought his way to the net and backhanded a loose puck behind goaltender Andrei Mezin.

That goal sent Mezin to the bench in exchange for Sergei Shabonov. The backup keeper made several nice stops to keep Belarus close and for a few minutes in the second period, it appeared as though Belarus was going to pull off yet another upset.

Dmitri Dudik tied the game just 1:15 into the middle period when he took a long pass from Sweden hero Vladimir Kopat and beat Nikolai Khabibulin on a breakaway.

As soon as Belarus got back in the game, the Russians got serious.

Oleg Tverdovsky netted the game-winner with a slap shot that found its way through a double screen on the power play. Just 23 seconds later, the Russians added their fourth goal when Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk one-timed an Alexei Kovalev pass behind Shabonov.

Kovalev, who had two goals and an assist, extended the lead to 5-2 just 7:47 into the third period. That's when Belarus realized its medal hopes had vanished.

"I think we had a real chance and the first period showed that," Belorussian captain Aleksandr Andrievsky said. "I think the Russian team was in shock in the first period because they came here for gold and won a bronze."

The mindset among the Russian players was interesting. While there was controversy about the officiating after their loss to the Americans, Russian captain Igor Larionov said the players got together on Friday night and refocused.

Shabonov replaced Andrei Mezin after two goals and made several nice stops to keep Belarus close deep into the second period.

"Of course we were disappointed," Larionov said. "But after the game was over we went back to the Olympic village and had a meeting first with the players and then with the coach and you know, life goes on. It was important for us to win the bronze because we have a deep respect for every team and Belarus has a great team."

The Russians didn't have time to reflect on their lost chance for gold. Unlike the Canadian squad that lost in a shootout to the Czech Republic in Nagano and followed that with a loss to Finland in the bronze match, this team get itself together in amazing fashion.

"Our mindset was very simple," said Russian defenseman Igor Kravchuk. "We could not lose this game. The pressure is on us only. It was a hard game for us to play emotionally since we did not have time to recover."

With a bronze medal around his neck, Kasparaitis - perhaps thinking of Sweden's fate - summed it up best: "I've got the complete package now - gold, silver, bronze. Today I feel great. It was a good tournament. I'll take this rather three games and going home."