WINTER OLYMPICS / NOTEBOOK

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that Dennis Rawlinson, one of Harding’s attorneys and the husband of her coach, Diane Rawlinson, has resigned as Harding’s lawyer, citing Harding’s “adverse” relationship with the USFSA.

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The U.S. hockey team, which was 1-1-1 in a pre-Olympic tournament in France last week, will play its final exhibition game tonight in Sweden. Although its recent play hasn’t been impressive--goaltender Mike Dunham gave up three goals to the Swedish B team and continues to struggle--that’s not necessarily a cause for concern.

The 1980 U.S. team had an even worse finish: Herb Brooks’ squad was routed by the Soviet Union in its exhibition finale, but that was forgotten two weeks later at Lake Placid, N.Y., when the Americans upset the Soviets and went on to win the gold medal.

“In hindsight, losing that game was something that ended up being pretty good for us,” said Ken Morrow, a member of the 1980 squad who is a New York Islanders scout. “One of the reasons Herb scheduled the game was to get the nervousness out of us. He felt that if we met them before the Games, we wouldn’t be as nervous when we saw them (in Olympic competition). . . . I remember we felt the exhibition season went on so long. We had a slide around September--and just after Christmas, we felt we were ready then. It seemed the Olympics were never going to get there.”

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Only two members of the ’80 U.S. team remain in the NHL--defenseman Mike Ramsey, who plays occasionally with the Pittsburgh Penguins as he ends a fine career, and center Neal Broten, still productive for the Dallas Stars. However, the legacy of the Lake Placid team is evident in the current crop of Olympians, who began playing in youth programs established after its success.

“If 1980 hadn’t happened, these kids wouldn’t be here,” U.S. Coach Tim Taylor said recently. “We were developing a lot of programs then, and 1980 was the first fruits of the labor of the development work we were doing. It opened an awful lot of doors for American hockey players to have professional careers, and was inspirational for youth hockey organizations. The ‘80s were when our elite players became respected and admired among the best in the world.”

The percentage of American players in the NHL stood at 8% in the 1978-79 season. It increased to 11% in 1980-81, and was at a record 17% by the start of this season.

“The depth of our elite player pool is still not as good as we’d like, but there are a lot more people playing,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. “Our work is starting to pay dividends.”