PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The halftime message from John Desko was clear. After his team turned the ball over eight times, failed to win a faceoff and mustered just two goals through the first 30 minutes, the Syracuse head coach made sure it would come out of halftime differently.

‘He just told us to wake up and play our game,’ said SU attack Tim Desko. ‘Don’t turn the ball over, be patient and just put the ball in the back of the net.’

And with that, the message was received.

It took the Orange just one minute to score after the break, when Jeremy Thompson fired in a bullet from 15 yards out. Then it was Desko’s turn to respond to his coach. After Desko scored, Cody Jamieson tallied two-straight goals to push the Syracuse lead to 6-0 with four minutes to play in the third quarter.

After a slow first half, the Orange offense responded. The group scored five goals in the third quarter, went 5-of-8 at the faceoff X and turned the ball over only four times.

Once the offense got started, it was hard to contain. The first-half struggles became a mere memory.

‘We rushed some things in the first half and weren’t making good decisions,’ Desko said. ‘In the second half, we had some good possessions and scored real early. I think we got more comfortable as a result.’

Rutgers goaltender William Olin had seven first-half saves on 13 Syracuse shots. He came out on fire, using his feet and shins to stop shots. Olin held Syracuse scoreless through the first quarter. The last time the Orange failed to score in a quarter was against Hobart on March 23.

Syracuse has made a living jumping on teams early. Prior to Sunday, the Orange had outscored its opponents 38-13 through the first 15 minutes. It has led nine of those 10 games after the first quarter.

But the story was much different Sunday.

Five minutes into the game, Jovan Miller left his defender in the dust. He took a running shot off one foot on the left side from 10 yards out. Olin stuck his shin out and made the save. And that was hardly the only time Olin relied on his lower legs.

‘We were shooting low, and he was guessing low,’ said SU attack Chris Daniello. ‘We just had to change it up at halftime. We relaxed out there and changed up our shots.’

After Desko sent the message during the break, Syracuse came out and shot higher. Olin could not keep up.

He finished the game with 14 saves on 36 SU shots but let up five goals in the third. Syracuse responded to its coach and figured out the Rutgers defense.

‘We executed and got better looks,’ Daniello said. ‘They weren’t quick to slide, so if you got by the first guy there was room to get a shot off, and that is where we capitalized.’

A long stretch

The past week has been a busy one for Syracuse.

After three consecutive night games on the road, the Orange will finally return to the Carrier Dome on April 24 to host Providence in an afternoon game. The trip began against Princeton at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Then the Orange headed to Ithaca, N.Y., to play Cornell. And Sunday night, the week concluded with a win at Rutgers.

Three road games and three wins. But Syracuse is excited to get home.

‘We got done with a long week,’ Joel White said. ‘Three tough road games, all at night. To come away with three good wins is real nice and a great step in the right direction.’

Not only will the Orange get to play an afternoon game, but it has six days to prepare for another Big East matchup against Providence Saturday.

Head coach John Desko felt the tough schedule may have been the cause of a slow start.

‘I think anytime you play three games in one week and you play the likes of Princeton and then Cornell and then Rutgers all on the road, I think it takes its toll a little bit,’ Desko said. ‘I am proud of the group. I think we adjusted.’

A new No. 1?

Syracuse entered the game against Rutgers as the No. 2 team in the nation. When the Orange wakes up Monday morning that may be much different.

On Saturday, No. 1 Virginia fell to No. 5 Duke 13-9 in Charlottesville, Va. With the Syracuse win, the Orange is likely to claim that top spot come Monday.

That is a spot the Orange held to begin the 2010 season. When it lost to Virginia back on March 7, it fell to No. 2 in the polls, and the Cavaliers replaced it. But now, it is the Orange who will likely replace Virginia.

Since falling to Virginia, SU has gone on a tear. It has reeled off wins in each of its last eight games, defeating five top 20 teams during that stretch.

restern@syr.edu