FRAMINGHAM – Twice the Dedham boys hockey team beat Tri-Valley League foe Dover-Sherborn/Weston in the regular season last year, only for the Raiders to top it in the Div. 4 second round on the road to their first state title.

Not this time.

Senior forward Ryan Laughter created traffic in front and senior captain Nick Moreno’s shot from the point got through with 41.8 seconds left, snapping 44 minutes of scoreless hockey to ultimately lift the No. 6 Marauders (14-8) over No. 3 D-S/Weston, 2-0, in a Div. 4 state quarterfinal at Loring Arena Wednesday night.

Fellow senior Tim Holton’s empty-netter with 5.5 seconds left iced it, capping off a strong performance in net from Noel Adams (23 saves) and the defense to take down the reigning champs.

Dedham heads to the Final Four for the first time in program history, set to play the winner of No. 2 Hanover versus No. 10 Hudson. The Raiders’ season ends at 13-9-2.

“Since last year we had a chip on our shoulder,” Adams said. “This game we knew was going to come down to the wire. Close game, great team over there, battling all night long. But the boys in the room that came together played for the guy next to them, played for the ‘D’ on the shirt. That’s what it came down to.”

“It’s unbelievable because we had heartbreak to this team,” added Marauders second-year head coach Dan Panciocco, a Dedham alum. “This is a special team. I said in the beginning of the year, we can get to (TD Garden). … I can’t say enough about these guys. They work their asses off.”

Panciocco called it a game “that could’ve gone either way,” which is largely a credit to a defensive battle anchored by D-S/Weston’s Will Goldstein (30 saves) and Adams. Teams traded sporadic moments of heavy pressure with near-misses, but nothing came to fruition until crunch time.

Goldstein initially saved an outside shot from Holton on an odd-man rush, which Laughter just missed the rebound at the post on in the final minute. Senior captain Brian Dunne was first to it behind the net, and his backhanded pass from down low found open space to Moreno up top.

Moreno admits his shot might’ve deflected off a body or a stick, but it hardly mattered once it found the back of the net.

“I was like, ‘I’ve got to get this on net,’” Moreno said. “It went in, and that’s all that matters, we’re moving on. That was crazy. One of the best feelings I’ve ever had. Just the energy. The student section (was) rocking.”

After last year’s run was cut short by D-S/Weston, Panciocco said his captains were integral in keeping the Marauders focused between periods of a nail-biter.

It’s fitting then for Adams to post a shutout, Moreno to tally the game-winner and Dunne to assist on it.

“My three captains, they keep that locker room in check,” Panciocco said. “It was great (what they brought). I can only ask for so much.”