The 1997 Wallaceburg Bantam Griffins were coached by Kim O’Neil, along with assistants Adam Seys, Sheldon Parsons and Collette O’Neil. They had a great season and entering the Ontario C Division Championships, they would need to win 6 consecutive games to claim the title.

With a lot of support from family and friends, the Griffins opened up the tournament with a tough 6 -5 win over South Simcoe. Game two was not nearly as difficult as they hammered Nepean 8 - 0. In game three, they needed overtime before defeating Acton 7-6. They then beat East Gwillimbury 4 -2 and 8 – 4 in back-to-back games, setting up the final vs undefeated Brampton. In the final, Brampton was leading 7-5, with 4:28 to play, before Wallaceburg stormed back with a pair of goals from Lee Simpson, and the winner from Al Shepley with less than a minute to play. Goaltender Ryan “ Bun “ Blair shut the door to seal the victory!