Falling behind a little more than two minutes into Friday’s semifinal against Alexandria wasn’t Hermantown's desired start.

The Hawks regrouped for a remarkable finish. They scored seven unanswered goals and transformed a one-goal deficit into 7-1 running-time romp.

“I thought we played a pretty complete game after the first five minutes,” Hawks coach Patrick Andrews said. “They punched us in the mouth, and I loved how we responded.”

Tyler Kludt scored just 2 minutes, 9 seconds into the game, and for a moment the 2018 Cardinals’ semifinal upset of Hermantown came to mind.

Good thing the Hawks aren’t history majors.

No. 1 seed Hermantown (28-2) returns to its 11th state title game. The Hawks face Warroad at noon Saturday.

“It’s going to be a good one,” said senior forward Dominic Thomas, who scored the final goal Friday. “We have the Hansons and Plantes, and they have Shaugabay and Gardner. So, we’ll see what happens. Whichever team has more depth will hopefully pull ahead.”

Hermantown’s depth shined against No. 5 Alexandria (20-7-2). Seven different players scored.

Josh Kauppinen tied the game at 9:44, followed by power-play goals from Ty Hanson and Kade Kohanski.

The Hawks did not relent. Gavin Blomdahl, Max Plante and Dallas Vieau made the lead 6-1 after the second period. Shots on goal through two periods was 34-3.

“We have tremendous confidence in our depth,” Andrews said. “They’ve always come through for us, and we needed them to come through today.”