The 97-98 NCHL season saw more changes as the Grande Cache Rockies and Drayton Valley Wildcats were welcomed, while the Mayerthorpe Hitmen became the first team to take a leave of absence. The Hinton Heat were also re-instated to the league. Drayton Valley had moved over from "AAA" status in the Chinook League and were a very strong club, losing only 1 regular season game. Grande Cache also proved to be a very good club, coming in second behind DV in the South Division. Slave Lake defeated Fox Creek in the North final, while Drayton Valley defeated Grande Cache in the South final. Drayton Valley defeated Slave Lake in straight games to win the NCHL championship.
The all-star game was played in Edson, Alberta
SOUTH DIVISION
| TEAMS | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drayton Valley Wildcats | 23 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 184 | 85 | 42 |
| Grande Cache Rockies | 23 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 144 | 91 | 36 |
| Edson Ice | 24 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 113 | 126 | 20 |
| Hinton Heat | 23 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 113 | 116 | 20 |
NORTH DIVISION
| TEAMS | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slave Lake Winterhawks | 23 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 158 | 116 | 31 |
| Whitecourt Cats | 24 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 112 | 133 | 21 |
| Fox Creek Bandits | 24 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 103 | 127 | 19 |
| Athabasca Aces | 24 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 110 | 161 | 15 |
| Swan Hills Knights | 23 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 95 | 198 | 6 |
Archived information courtesy of the Fox Creek Bandits webpage.