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Instead, he was competing in a hockey tournament with The Avalanche — a local elite team. Petak sent in video clips hopeful he'd hear back.
Earlier this summer, he did.
While at sleep away camp, the 15-year-old was told by a camp official that he was selected amongst hundreds in the U.S. as the youngest ice hockey player to qualify for the junior division of the Maccabi Games.
Back at home, his parents — Susan and Jonathan — wondered if he knew.
"We didn’t know if he knew he made the team until we spoke to him a week and half later," Susan Petak told Daily Voice. "He's so modest — it's not even something he’d talk about."
The rising Frisch sophomore and longtime ice hockey player starred on the Cougars' team his freshman year and plans on playing again this year.
The Petaks made the difficult decision to cancel what would've been Noah's bar mitzvah trip to Israel two years ago during the war.
The family will accompany Noah, however, to the games next summer.
Petak will play in the 20th annual Maccabiah competition from July 4-18, which is expected to be the tournament's most successful year.
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