This was the 1996–97 Alpenliga season, the sixth season of the multi-national ice hockey league. 11 teams participated in the league, and VEU Feldkirch of Austria won the championship by defeating Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia.
Regular season
edit| Place | Team | GP | Pts | W | T | L | GF:GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Austria VEU Feldkirch |
40 | 65 | 31 | 3 | 6 | 177:95 | +82 |
| 2 | Austria EC VSV |
40 | 55 | 25 | 5 | 10 | 194:125 | +69 |
| 3 |  Slovenia HDD Olimpija Ljubljana |
40 | 48 | 21 | 6 | 13 | 200:157 | +43 |
| 4 | Austria EC KAC |
40 | 48 | 21 | 6 | 13 | 162:126 | +36 |
| 5 |  Italy HC Bozen |
40 | 43 | 19 | 5 | 16 | 171:155 | +16 |
| 6 | Austria EC Kapfenberg |
40 | 41 | 16 | 9 | 15 | 134:124 | +10 |
| 7 | Italy HC Milan 24 |
40 | 40 | 18 | 4 | 18 | 190:174 | +16 |
| 8 | Slovenia HK Jesenice |
40 | 34 | 15 | 4 | 21 | 131:163 | -32 |
| 9 | Austria CE Wien |
40 | 32 | 15 | 2 | 23 | 135-148 | -13 |
| 10 | Slovenia HK Bled |
40 | 27 | 11 | 5 | 24 | 118:194 | -76 |
| 11 | Austria EC Graz |
40 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 35 | 124:275 | -151 |
Playoffs
editGroup phase
edit| Group A | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Team | GP | Pts | W | T | L | GF:GA | GD |
| 1 | Slovenia HDD Olimpija Ljubljana |
3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 14:11 | +3 |
| 2 | Austria EC VSV |
3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18:11 | +7 |
| 3 | Slovenia HK Jesenice |
3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7:17 | -10 |
| 4 | Italy HC Milan 24 |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10:10 | 0 |
| Group B | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Team | GP | Pts | W | T | L | GF:GA | GD |
| 1 | Austria VEU Feldkirch |
3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19:8 | +11 |
| 2 | Austria EC KAC |
3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11:5 | +6 |
| 3 | Italy HC Bozen |
3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13:16 | -3 |
| 4 | Slovenia HK Bled |
3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13:27 | -14 |
Final
edit- HDD Olimpija Ljubljana – VEU Feldkirch: 4:4 (2:2, 1:2, 1:0)
- VEU Feldkirch – Olimpija Ljubljana: 6:1 (1:0, 2:0, 3:1)