Winnipeg Sun
Monday, December 3, 2001
By Ken Wiebe -- Winnipeg Sun

QUEBEC -- It's time to consult the memory bank: When was the last time the Manitoba Moose scored a power-play goal on the road?

If you're a bit stumped, don't feel bad, it's been a while -- a long, long while.

The answer is Oct. 19, when Manitoba's leading goal scorer Andre Savage slammed home a rebound on a two-man advantage in the first period of a 3-0 victory over the St. John's Maple Leafs at Mile One Stadium.

Since that tally, the Moose have been mired in an 0-35 drought with the man advantage away from home, a trend that captain Brian Chapman finds hard to explain.

"We need a couple of bounces. It seems we're generating some chances but for whatever reason we don't seem to find the back of the net," said Chapman, who often mans the point on one of the power-play units.

"It's going to probably take a puck to go in off a skate or off someone's butt to get us out of this rut. We've done the job at home. When it's not going well, you've got to simplify it and bang away and get one like that."

Finding the twine: When right-winger Brad Leeb scored two goals, including the game-winner on Saturday night against the Saint John Flames, it was the first time he had found the twine since Nov. 11.

Granted, he did miss three games while on recall to the Vancouver Canucks and that last goal was an overtime winner against the league-leading Utah Grizzlies -- so it's not like he or members of the Moose coaching staff were about to panic.

"He's been a little bit dry at the well," said Moose assistant Barry Smith. "His intensity level picks up when (the game) is on the line. He's probably been a bit frustrated but he knows when to pick it up and how to get himself going. He bears down and he's hard to stop with that shot."



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