Whistles While They Work

How do the Bruins prepare for referees’ questionable calls? By enduring the scrimmage whistles of assistant coach Steve Spencer, says Coach Steve Lavin, a longtime friend and close observer of Spencer’s officiating artistry.

“Spencer officiates the scrimmages because he’s a terrible official,” Lavin said with a grin. “I know there’s going to be games where we don’t get a single call for an entire half or the final six minutes of a game on the road somewhere.

“We always use Coach Spencer during those situations in the timeouts as our reference point. . . . He doesn’t think he’s bad. Coach Spence thinks he’s calling a good game, but because I know he’s terrible, it’s the equivalent of having a terrible official on the road. . . . He just has no judgment. He never did.

“He drives our team crazy. It’s a great opportunity, because if they complain, we line them up and make them run [sprints].”

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Suspended center Jelani McCoy, expected to be fully reinstated for the Dec. 27 game at Nevada Las Vegas, sat out Tuesday’s practice because of a sore ankle, and might miss as much as a week of work.