Hi, I'm also in the boston area and hit the same problem with my Ariens ST11528LE during the last storm. Basically tightening the spring loaded nut under the shoot deflector gear will keep the chute pointing in the desired direction. It's on page 22 of my owner's manual, of course I couldn't find my paper copy in my file cabinet, so I downloaded it today at
http://manuals.ariens.com/Owner_Manuals/Ariens_OM/924124_128,335_338,516,517/00294700a_eng.pdf
You likely have the older model without the Quick Turn stick (yours has the crank..?). This will not work on a 926001.
