The 96-97 season saw a minor restructuring of teams as Fox Creek was moved to the South Division and Mayerthorpe moved over to the North Division. Another item of note was the Hinton Heat being suspended from league play late in the season.
When the playoffs arrived, the 3 remaining teams in the South Division played off in a double round robin to determine which two would meet in the division final. Edson and Whitecourt played off with Edson winning. In the North Division, Slave Lake and Swan Hills met in the final with the Winterhawks prevailing. Slave Lake defeated Edson in 5 games to win the league championship.
The all-star game was played in Athabasca.
SOUTH DIVISION
| TEAM | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edson | 26 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 140 | 88 | 39 |
| Fox Creek | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 105 | 123 | 24 |
| Whitecourt | 26 | 11 | 14 | 1 | 120 | 121 | 23 |
| Hinton | 21 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 85 | 73 | 12 |
NORTH DIVISION
| TEAM | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slave Lake | 26 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 158 | 97 | 52 |
| Swan Hills | 26 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 124 | 136 | 22 |
| Athabasca | 26 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 141 | 157 | 20 |
| Mayerthorpe | 26 | 8 | 18 | 0 | 82 | 170 | 16 |
Archived information courtesy of the Fox Creek Bandits webpage.
