Unlike the video game developers that have all but abandoned cheat codes, opposing high school hockey teams can’t simply delete the line of code that manifests as Blake Biondi. 

The Mr. Hockey finalist’s abundant hockey gifts were on full display Wednesday afternoon, as the Minnesota-Duluth commit rattled off a hat trick and two assists to lead the Hawks to a 7-1 win over Monticello (20-8-1). 

“He’s a man amongst boys out there,” Monticello coach Eric Nelson said. “He had a great game, and he’s a great player.”

Senior forward and Biondi linemate Zach Kilen said that Biondi intimidated him when the two first met. 

“When I first came here, I was a little scared of him, honestly,” Kilen said, soliciting a guffaw from Biondi. “Playing with him has been really good this year,” Kilen continued. “He’s been helping me, teaching me some stuff along the way.”

Kilen notched a pair of goals in the win for the Hawks (22-3-4), with Aydyn Dowd Aaron Pionk adding the other two scores. 

Hermantown goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 18 of 19 shots for the Hawks, allowing a single goal that was dumped in from the red line by Monticello’s Riley Ronayne. Markstrom blocked the shot, which fluttered in the air and eventually dropped behind him into the goal. 

“When there’s not people in the stands here, those dark green seats, you can lose pucks, and it went up and got lost in those seats,” Hermantown coach Pat Andrews said. “I just felt bad for him for that because he deserved that shutout.”

With the semifinal matchup set between St. Cloud Cathedral and Hermantown, two teams that have spent the bulk of the regular season rotating around the top three across multiple sets of rankings, both Nelson and Andrews admitted excitement for the next round. 

“It should be a toe-to-toe battle, heavyweight fight,” Nelson said. “The anticipation should be good. It’ll be fun to watch.”

Andrews practically vibrated with energy during the postgame press conference, and his answer about Friday’s game came with the same level of spirit. 

“Friday’s game is going to be a riot,” Andrews said.